


The Cult of the Doctor

by Cheriluvs10



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Doctor Whump, Fanfiction, Gen, Multiple Doctors (Doctor Who)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-08-05
Updated: 2014-11-08
Packaged: 2018-02-11 22:11:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 23
Words: 34,628
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2085054
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cheriluvs10/pseuds/Cheriluvs10
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ten/Rose with Metacrisis Ten, Donna and Jackie. AU. Following the events of Journey's End, the Doctor takes Rose, Metacrisis and Jackie back to Pete's World. But the disappearance of the TARDIS strands the Doctor there while a biography written about him inspires a cult to worship him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

As soon as the Doctor opened the TARDIS doors and let everyone step out onto the beach, his hearts began to beat rapidly, so fast he felt like they were going to burst out of his chest. He'd been dreading this moment ever since he made the decision to bring his clone back here. He knew that he would have to leave Rose behind to look after him and he knew she'd be devastated. He wasn't sure he'd be able to cope with it either. It'd been ages since he'd been able to see and hold her and the thought of losing her again filled him with anguish. But deep down inside, he knew it would never work. Sooner or later, she would die, if not from sharing his adventures then from old age. He couldn't bear the thought of either scenario. But even if he was leaving her behind, he could leave her something of himself. The clone was half human. He could age like a normal human being. That combined with the fact that the clone shared his memories and mannerisms made him the perfect mate for his lover. She could have him and share a normal human lifespan with him.

But for the moment, he was delaying the bombshell. They were standing together on the beach, looking out at the water while Jackie phoned Pete. The Doctor glanced at Donna and blanched. He was about to lose her as well, another thing he wasn't looking forward to. For the moment, Donna was looking around, calmly surveying the landscape. She didn't show signs of distress but the Doctor felt sure that she knew what had to be done, even if she was trying to pretend she was okay. He noticed she was shivering a bit. It was a chilly Norwegian day and she came outside without a coat on. She was hugging herself, trying to keep the shivers to a minimum but when the Doctor walked up to her, she turned to him.

"I need to go back inside; it's too cold out here. Maybe you can cope without a coat but I can't. I'll be right back."

The Doctor nodded and patted her on the shoulder. He noticed Donna's hesitation as she turned and stared at the TARDIS. He could see a wistful look on her face and he knew that she knew the truth. Perhaps it would be good for her to spend these moments alone in the TARDIS before it had to be wiped from her mind. Donna put her hands in her trouser pockets and walked towards the timeship while the Doctor turned his attention to Rose and the clone. Jackie was still speaking to Pete on the phone so he thought he could get them alone and break the news to them gently. He steeled himself for what was to come as he put his hands in his pockets and walked over to them. They were standing beside each other, staring out at the ocean. There were a few gulls flying out over the water and Rose was pointing at one that was diving down into the water for a meal. As he came close, the clone looked his way and the Doctor saw a wary look on his face. He wondered if his double sensed what he had in mind. He wanted this painful situation to go smoothly but he had a feeling that wouldn't happen. Still, he stopped beside his clone and asked them if they'd like to go for a walk with him since he had something to say to them. The clone narrowed his eyes and the Doctor knew he had guessed at what he was about to say but he said nothing and took Rose's hand.

The Doctor glanced back at his TARDIS. He didn't have much time. He'd have to make this quick and to the point since his ship couldn't function here for long. He beckoned to his lover and the clone and they started to walk off. He was about to speak to them when they suddenly heard Jackie angrily calling his name.

"What the hell did you just do?" she yelled.

The Doctor glanced at his double, figuring she was mad because her husband had to come back to Norway to get them. But when they turned, the Doctor saw Jackie pointing at empty air and his hearts lurched when he realized where she was pointing was where the TARDIS had been standing. But now his ship was gone.

"What?" the Doctor said in disbelief as he ran towards the spot where his ship had been parked.

Rose and the clone followed him but the Doctor ignored them as he sped towards the empty spot. There had been no wheezing, no indication that the TARDIS had taken off but when he reached the spot, there was only sand at his feet and nothing in front of him. He walked all over the spot where the TARDIS had been but there was nothing there. The TARDIS hadn't been rendered invisible, it had vanished.

"Doctor, where'd the TARDIS go?" Rose asked.

The Doctor turned to her. She, the clone and Jackie were standing together while they waited for an explanation. The Doctor whipped out his screwdriver and scanned the air before checking it.

"Nothing. There's nothing here, no trace of the TARDIS," he said in disbelief. "It's gone."

"And Donna, she's gone as well?" Rose said.

The Doctor nodded grimly. He hoped she was alright, especially since her mind was in danger of burning up. He made another quick scan of the area before he turned to Jackie.

"What happened? Did you see it go?" he asked her.

"I was saying goodbye to Pete when your TARDIS just disappeared," Jackie said.

"That's it? No TARDIS noise?" the clone said.

Jackie shrugged.

"No. It just faded away," Jackie said.

"Did Donna hit something by accident?" the clone asked. "She went inside."

"Yes. She went inside to get a coat. But her coat's in her room and she wouldn't have any reason to go near the console if she was heading towards it. Besides, it would have made some sort of noise. It wouldn't have just vanished like that."

"So…you can't get it back?" Rose said worriedly.

"Not without knowing what happened. If I knew why it left, I could figure out a way to bring it back but without knowing the reason…"

The Doctor rubbed his chin and began to pace back and forth, trying to think of a way to bring back the TARDIS. The clone glanced at Rose and walked over to the space where the TARDIS had stood. He squatted and ran his hand over the sand, trying to sense any energy that might have been left when the ship vanished.

"There's no trace of any residual energy," the clone said, shaking his head. "Just sand."

He picked up a handful and watched as it slipped between his fingers. The Doctor stopped beside her and sighed.

"There's got to be a way. Donna's in danger. If we don't get to her, she could die."

"Die?" Rose said.

The Doctor briefly explained about Donna not being able to retain a Time Lord consciousness, his hearts lurching when he saw the horrified look on Rose's face. His clone had a passive expression but the Doctor could tell from the tightening of his lips that he was just as upset about Donna as the Doctor was. The Doctor tried a few more scans, because he couldn't think of anything else to do before he finally gave in for the moment.

"Pete's coming. He can take us back to London," Jackie said. "Rose can take you to Torchwood. Maybe they'll have something that can find the TARDIS."

The last thing the Doctor wanted to do was step inside Torchwood again but he conceded that perhaps Jackie was right. He didn't know what else to do now and he had no desire to stay on a cold, windy beach while he hoped that his timeship would return to him. For the moment, he was stuck here so he decided not only to go with Jackie, Rose and his clone but also to delay telling them what he was planning to say. The last thing he wanted was to be stuck in a parallel universe with his pissed off double and lover with no means of escape. Besides, he might need the Metacrisis Doctor's help with this so he held his tongue for now.

He scanned the horizon and realized that they really were out in the middle of nowhere. There was no sign of a town or even a few houses in the distance. The last time he had spoken to Rose, when they'd been separated by the void, there was a truck here.

"Jackie, how is Pete coming to get us and how long will it take?" the Doctor said.

He's sending a helicopter to fly us to the nearest town and we'll wait for them there. He has my son with him so he's going to have to find someone to look after him before he flies up here," Jackie said. "The helicopter should be here soon. Torchwood's supposedly arranging it."

The Doctor nodded. He looked at Jackie and sensed she was holding something back.

"What else is going on?" he asked as Rose and the clone came up beside him. "Pete told you something else, yeah?"

Jackie glanced at her daughter.

"Yeah. Pete said that…well…he said someone published a book about you."

The Doctor was thrown for a loop.

"Me?" he said. "Someone wrote a book about me?"

Jackie nodded. The Doctor tightened his jaw.

"Who?" he said. "Who here knows me well enough to write a book…"

He looked at Rose.

"It's not me," Rose said.

"Not me either," the clone said.

"Pete?" the Doctor said.

"I seriously doubt he wrote a book about you, Doctor. He has other things to worry about besides your biography," Jackie said.

"Who else knows enough about me to write a book?" the Doctor said. "Mickey? Jake? They're the only ones from here who know me. Are you sure it's about me?"

"I'm just telling you what Pete said. Someone wrote a book about you and now it's becoming popular."

"Oh?" the Doctor said.

"You're a celebrity then?" Rose teased as she playfully poked his arm.

"It appears so. But now there's two mysteries to solve. Where's my TARDIS and who wrote and published my biography?"


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

An hour later, an unmarked black helicopter was taking them back to the nearest city where they could wait comfortably until Pete arrived. The Doctor, Rose and the clone sat together in the belly of the helicopter while Jackie sat in the co-pilots seat. The pilot, a young man named Sven shocked the Doctor when he recognized him and the clone the moment he got out of the helicopter. He asked for an autograph and the clone deferred to him, letting the Doctor sign the piece of paper Sven handed him. He wanted to ask Sven what he knew about him but Sven told them they were in a hurry so they piled into the helicopter and Sven took off. Now the Doctor stared out the grimy window of the helicopter, lost in his thoughts until Rose touched his arm.

"I didn't ask anyone to write a biography about you and I wasn't interviewed by anyone and I know Dad wasn't either," she said.

"Then how did it get written? You know me best out of everyone here and even you don't know the whole story of my life."

"I don't know. I mentioned you sometimes to people at Torchwood because I have a photo of you on my desk but I never really said anything about your life. I told people you were a former boyfriend and we used to travel together and that's as far as it went for awhile. Then I had to explain who you were when we constructed the dimension cannon but I still didn't go into much detail. I just told them that you might know how to stop the stars from going out and I had to find you."

The Doctor nodded.

"I want to ask Sven what he's read when we land. Or find a copy of the book. Someone over here knows me well enough to write a book. Unless it's a bunch of lies."

"Even so, why would someone write down a bunch of lies and sell it?" the clone said. "You're not a part of this universe, right?"

Rose shook her head.

"He's not. Believe me, I checked. I spoke with several alien delegates when they visited Earth and I asked about you and no one ever heard of you," Rose said. "Then again, that doesn't mean you might not exist here, it just means that the people we talked to had no knowledge of you."

The Doctor was bemused that Rose had asked around about another version of him. He often wondered if she had found another version of him or at least tried to find him. The fact that she tried so hard to be with him again warmed his hearts. He relaxed against the high-backed leather seat and closed his eyes, listening to the muffled sound of the helicopter blades turning as he tried to give his mind a break from thinking for several minutes. He felt Rose lay her hand on his arm but he kept his eyes closed and didn't acknowledge her. He was trying not to think of Donna and imagine the worst for her. That was his first priority at the moment, finding her and saving her life. The mystery of the biography could wait.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

When they reached the nearest city, Jackie checked them into a hotel and rented four rooms. Two of the rooms were beside each other on the third floor. The other two were down the hall from them. The Doctor went to the room farthest away from the others before anyone could say anything. He needed some time alone to think and come up with some solutions. He didn't wait to see where everyone else went as he strode off the down the hall with keycard in hand. His room was two doors down from the end of the hallway. At the very end was a large window with a small table and a vase of flowers in front of it. The Doctor inserted the key card and went inside his room. There wasn't much to it. A wooden floor with white plaster walls. There was a few framed paintings on the walls and a simple bed and a bedside table with a lamp and a telephone on top of it. It had an en suite bathroom but it was small and undecorated and to the Doctor's distaste, had a dead cockroach in the bathtub. The Doctor picked it up and flung it into the toilet. He flushed it and walked back to the bed. He was about to stretch out on it and think when he heard a knock on the door and Rose calling to him. He walked over, opened the door and gazed at her beautiful face. She was giving him a concerned look.

"Are you okay?" Rose said.

"I'm fine, Rose. I just wanted to rest a bit and think."

"Mum wants us to meet downstairs in a couple of hours so we can find somewhere to eat. She was about to tell you that but you just walked off so she sent me to tell you."

"Thank you."

There was a moment of hesitation.

"Doctor…are you mad at me?" she finally said.

The Doctor shook his head.

"I'm just worried about Donna. I don't want her to die."

Rose nodded.

"I just wondered. You've been so distant, especially after leaving the Crucible. I thought I did something to upset you."

"No, you've done nothing wrong. There's been a lot of my mind lately."

Rose took his hand and ran her fingertips lightly over the back of it.

"We haven't had much time alone since we found each other again. That bloody Dalek shot you and you nearly regenerated and then we were kidnapped and imprisoned and we had to deal with all that. This is the first chance I've had to really be with you. But you want to be alone so I'll just tell you I'm in 322, next door to Mum. The other you is three doors down from here. Anyway, if you want me to come get you for supper, I will but you don't have to go. It's just an invitation. Anyway, I'll leave you alone and…"

Rose was turning to go but the Doctor tightened his grip on her hand. Rose looked back at him and she saw an intense longing in his eyes. No words were spoken but Rose knew to come close to him and to walk with him as he backed up and shut the door behind them. She walked with him to the bed and lay down at his side. Still, nothing was spoken between them but Rose knew what the Doctor wanted. There were many times when he'd been troubled or distressed and he welcomed her company. There had been times when they'd had sex but for moments like this, the Doctor wanted only to cuddle and be comforted by her presence. She turned on her side towards him and sighed contentedly when he draped his arm over her and caressed her back while he relaxed and considered the problem at hand.

The Doctor hadn't meant to do this. But looking at Rose and realizing she didn't have mum and the clone in tow, his longing for her increased and now they were lying together in bed. It amused him that neither of them had said a word since he brought her inside, yet she knew what he wanted. It was just an affirmation of the bond he had with her. As he lay with her, he suddenly wondered how this was going to play out with his clone hovering nearby. It was different when he was going to give Rose to him and go back to his own universe, now that he was stuck here for the moment with his clone he suddenly felt very possessive of his lover, especially since he failed to resist the temptation to pull her inside his room. But if his clone shared his memories and mannerisms, he probably would want Rose for himself and he realized he might have a third problem on his hands now. He suddenly regretted taking the hand away from Jack. Because of his severed hand, he was not only going to lose Rose but lose Donna as well. Then he regretted letting his vanity get the best of him and preventing him from regenerating fully into another body. If he hadn't poured the residual energy into the hand…

The Doctor sighed. He couldn't change events now and he knew he was wasting time playing the what if game. He had more important things to think about now. He'd been dealt this particular hand by fate and he had to make the best of it. But for the moment, Rose was with him and he could pretend that her mother and his clone weren't down the hall from them.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The clone lay on his bed in his room. He was using the remote to flip through the TV channels, trying to find something interesting to watch. He was also trying not to think of Rose. When the Doctor mentioned going back to Pete's World, he had given him a pointed look while starting up his TARDIS so it didn't take a rocket scientist to know that he was being dropped off in another universe. He wasn't sure about Rose and where she would land up but he had a feeling she was going to be left behind as well. He was going to tell them something before the TARDIS disappeared and he suspected what he was thinking was what the Doctor was planning to tell them. If that was so, Rose was supposed to be his now, right?

Only hours after being born and already life was complicated. First he gets ostracized for doing what he considered to be the right thing and now he might have to fight over the woman of his dreams with himself. But for the moment, he was willing to put that all aside to help the Doctor find out what happened to the TARDIS and Donna. As for the mystery biography, he didn't care about it, at least not as much as Donna or the TARDIS. He suspected someone at Torchwood got into the Doctor's file and used that as a source for the book. Surely, they had a file on the Doctor, the other one did and if Rose was that adamant about getting back to him, they would want to know everything about him, right? He shared the Doctor's wariness about Torchwood. He didn't like that Rose was working for them and he wondered if someone had done something to Rose to gather information. Maybe hypnotize her or do a mind probe on her and make her forget it? There had to be something more to it.

But for the moment, he was too tired and weary to think about it further. After fighting a battle against Davros and the Daleks, incurring the Doctor's wrath for daring to save the universe without his permission and worrying about Donna, the TARDIS and Rose, he was ready to close his eyes and fall asleep.

That's when he saw it. He paused in his perusal of TV channels, intending to fall asleep to the sounds from the telly when he saw a news report that mentioned the Doctor and the biography. Suddenly awake, the clone sat upright in bed and gave the TV his full attention.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

The Doctor lay on his bed, watching Rose while she slept beside him. He had long since given up on trying to solve the various problems that were swirling around him and concentrated on how beautiful his lover looked while she slept. This was the first time since finding her again that they'd had a quiet moment together and he was making the most of it. The closeness of her body soothed him and he wondered how he'd been able to survive these past few years without her at his side. He realized that having her here would make it that much harder to give her up when the time came but for the moment he didn't care. Rose was beside him again and all was right with the world, as far as he was concerned.

Then a knock at the door shattered the illusion of being alone with Rose and he sighed when he heard his double calling to him beyond the locked door. He tried to move off the bed without waking Rose but the bed creaked the moment he sat up and Rose opened her eyes and gazed at him.

"Is it supper yet?" she murmured.

"Don't know. My clone is at the door," he said to her before standing up.

Rose turned and watched from her spot on the bed as the Doctor walked to the door and opened it.

"I have a bit of news for you," the clone said.

He then saw Rose and stiffened. The Doctor glanced at Rose and looked at his clone, trying very hard not to look like he was gloating, even though internally he was doing just that. The clone was also trying to be passive but the Doctor noticed he clenched one fist at his side before catching himself and relaxing it.

"What's the news?" the Doctor said before he and his clone got into a fight over Rose.

"I was trying to find something to watch on telly to pass the time and I found a news report about this biography of yours," the clone said.

The Doctor raised an eyebrow.

"Oh? What did they have to say? Did they say who wrote it?"

"Yes. George White is the author."

The Doctor looked at Rose who was now sitting up on the side of the bed.

"George White? Know someone by that name?" he said to her.

"No," Rose said, shaking her head.

"Did they show his face?" the Doctor said to his clone

"No. They just mentioned the name and said the book is gaining worldwide popularity now, even here," he said.

The Doctor beckoned him inside and the clone closed the door and winked at Rose when the Doctor turned away from him. The Doctor went to the window and looked out on the town while he mulled over this new bit of information. There were several people walking around outside, a few were going into other shops and businesses while a young man and woman snogged on a bench across the street.

"Rose, are you sure no one did anything to you?" he heard the clone say. "You're absolutely sure no one at Torchwood hypnotized you or did a mind probe?"

The Doctor turned around at that. He realized he'd never considered that but it made sense. Especially given his distrust of Torchwood.

"Rose, did you ever experience lost time?" he asked her. "Or have trouble remembering things?"

"I don't think so. I don't think anyone ever hypnotized me," she said. "I...can't be sure though."

"And George White sounds a bit generic to me," the Doctor said to the clone.

"Like an assumed name," the clone said, nodding in agreement.

"I think we should try to find a copy of this book, don't you agree?" the Doctor said to the clone.

The clone nodded, pleased that the Doctor was including him in this instead of pushing him to the side. He saw in this moment an opportunity to prove himself and possibly mend things between them. The last thing he wanted was the Doctor for an enemy. He decided to try a little test first and he told the Doctor and Rose he would go out and try to find a bookshop. He turned without waiting for an answer, half expecting the Doctor to stop him or tell Rose to go with him. But nobody said anything and the clone walked down the corridor to Jackie's room. He didn't have any money on him at the moment and he didn't feel like stealing a book since he was already a criminal in the Doctor's eyes. He knocked on Jackie's door and called to her. When she opened it, he explained what he needed and wondered if she could lend him a few quid to go find the book.

"I could lend you the money but I only have pounds, you'll have to exchange it for the local money."

She noticed the clone's blank look and sighed.

"Wait a minute, I'll help you find a currency exchange place," she said to him before going back inside to collect her purse.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

(Three hours later…)

Rose looked up when the Doctor came back into her room.

"They're still gone, both of them," he said, shutting the door.

Rose checked her watch.

"It's nearly three hours now. Where did they go?" Rose said. "It's taken them this long to exchange money and find a bookshop?"

The Doctor shrugged and sat down beside her on the bed. After they left, he'd turned on Rose's television and searched for any other mention of the biography but they couldn't find anything else so eventually they turned it off and waited for Jackie and the clone to return so they could go eat. In that time, the Doctor silently worried about Donna. He knew that Donna would have had a meltdown by now and without intervention…

He tried not to imagine what would happen to his best friend after the meltdown. He dreaded finding the TARDIS again with her dead body inside it. That's why he kept trying to turn his attention elsewhere so he didn't have to imagine that scenario. He tried to figure out where his TARDIS could be. There was no indication the TARDIS was dead or destroyed, he would feel it if that were so. So where was it?

He and Rose looked at the door when they heard knocking. Rose told them to come in and Jackie opened the door. She entered and the clone entered behind her, a stunned look on his face and a book in his hands. Rose walked around the bed to him when she noticed his hair was messed up and his clothes looked torn in a few places.

"Where'd you go? Are you alright?" she asked them.

"We found a bank and exchanged some money," Jackie said to them. "Then we found a bookshop. We found this book you're looking for but the moment some people saw him, they…freaked out and surrounded him," Jackie added, pointing to the clone. "We couldn't leave because more people were coming in to get a look at him and they acted like he was a rock star."

"We finally told them we had to go but a few of the more aggressive ones grabbed at me and tore my clothes and messed up my hair. Doctor, whatever this book says, it's turned you into a celebrity."

The Doctor took the book from him and told him to sit on the bed and rest. He admired his clone for going out and getting the book and getting swarmed in the meantime. Jackie told them that they found a Chinese takeaway down the street from the hotel and she would go get some food for them while they rested. She left the room and shut the door behind her. Rose sat down beside the clone and the Doctor sat down beside her on the end of the bed. They Doctor looked at the front of the book. The title of the book was WHO IS THE DOCTOR? There was a drawing of him rather than a photo but it was a very realistic looking drawing, enough to know that it was him. Rose rubbed the clone's back while he rested and recovered from the assault and the Doctor opened the book and began speed reading it. He got halfway through it before he stopped.

"So far this is surprisingly accurate," he said to them. "It has information about my time on Gallifrey, information I never shared with Rose so even if someone did a mind probe, they never would have learned all this from her. And it couldn't have come from you," he said to the clone. "So where did it come from?"

"Maybe there really is a parallel you here?" Rose offered. "There was a parallel me and Mickey and Mum and Dad here, so what if a parallel you wrote the book."

"Somehow I can't see myself writing something like this, even if it is a parallel version," the Doctor said, closing the book and staring at the drawing on the front.

"But if there are differences between you and your other you, maybe the other you is a celebrity seeker while you're not," Rose said.

"But the legends of Gallifrey said that in the beginning when the universes were formed, there was only one Gallifrey created," the clone said. "And supposedly the Time Lords exist only in one universe, the universe we came from."

"But you said it's a legend," Rose said. "Could it be a lie then?"

The Doctor tapped his fingers on the book while he thought about that. After thirty seconds, he suddenly realized he was mindlessly tapping out the Master's four beat rhythm and stopped himself.

"This book…given the amount of information in it about Gallifrey, it could only have been written by me. You and me," he said, gesturing to the clone, "we're the only ones who could know about all this. Rose doesn't know it so there's nothing for Torchwood to extract from her mind. So that must mean there is another me and possibly…"

He looked at the clone.

"Another Gallifrey," the clone finished with wide eyes.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

When Jackie returned with the food, they sat in the room and ate while the Doctor filled her in on what was happening. Jackie listened, shocked, that there might be another Gallifrey and another Doctor in Pete's World.

"But you never found evidence of that, yeah?" Jackie said to her daughter when the Doctor finished speaking.

"Yeah but…that doesn't mean it couldn't be out there somewhere, it is a big universe," Rose said.

"Not to mention if this Doctor has a TARDIS, he could have come from another point in time," the clone said. "Maybe Gallifrey also burned here but the Doctor survived it or…it could be this body but a different Doctor, maybe an earlier Doctor."

"But why would he write a book about himself?" Jackie said.

"That I don't know since I'd never do that," the Doctor said. "I certainly would never tell humans this much about Gallifrey. But each universe is slightly different. Seems this universe's Doctor not only has no qualms about sharing secrets with humans but he also doesn't mind being turned into a celebrity. Since he's different to me in that way, I can't tell you why he's doing it. I s'pose we'll have to seek him out and ask."

"Whatever his reasons, he nearly caused a riot today when he tried to leave the bookshop," Jackie said, pointing to the clone. "I thought they were going to rip him apart when he got near the door."

"I'm sorry that happened to you," the Doctor said sincerely as he examined a rip in the clone's jacket. "I'm glad you made it out of there in one piece."

The clone was shocked by that but he did manage to thank him, hoping that perhaps the two of them could mend things and work together.

"Does that mean you'll cause a riot if you go outside now?" Rose said to the Doctor and the clone.

"We could try to disguise ourselves," the clone said to the Doctor.

"Yes," the Doctor said. "If I had the TARDIS, I could get a holographic projector that would cover my body with a holographic disguise…"

He trailed off for a moment in thought. Then he had an idea. He stood up and rifled through his pockets and grinned when he pulled out the perception filters he made for himself and Martha. Martha had returned hers to him after they left the Valiant and the Doctor had retrieved the others from the Master's lab. He showed them to Rose and Jackie and explained how they worked.

"So if you put these on, no one can see you?" Rose said.

"Well, it's not a matter of being seen, it's more like no one will notice us. Me and Metacrisis can use them and we have a spare just in case. Hopefully since the only "Rose" here was Jackie's dog, no one will recognize either of you. The crowd didn't recognize you at the bookshop, did they?" he said to Jackie.

"No. Just him," Jackie said, gesturing to the clone. "And they only turned violent when he tried to leave, not me."

"Good. That means you and Rose don't have to worry about crowds mobbing you when we walk down the street. As long as you don't draw attention to us, you'll be fine."

He handed a filter to the clone and they put them around their necks.

"I can still see you," Jackie said.

"That's because you know we're here," the clone said. "That's why he said not to draw attention to us when we're outside."

Jackie nodded.

"That's sorted but what about you? Are we going to call you both, Doctor?" she asked them.

"Yeah, it'll get confusing if you have the same name," Rose said.

"She's right," the Doctor said.

"Just call me John then, for the moment. I use John Smith as an alias and since I'm half human, it seems appropriate."

"Okay, John, but are you safe?" Rose said.

"As long as I keep the perception filter on, I don't think I'll have to worry about frenzied crowds…"

"No, I mean you said Donna's mind was gonna burn because she's half human and half Time Lord. Aren't you the same then?" Rose said.

"He is but it's not the same. Donna took most of his mind into her own and since she has a human mind to begin with, she can't handle that much knowledge. The Time Lord mind's been drained from him so he's in no danger of burning up. He's safe," the Doctor said.

"So how much time does Donna have then?" Jackie said.

The Doctor and John glanced at each other.

"Unless someone intervened, she'd be dead by now," the Doctor said with heavy hearts.

"Maybe the other you took the TARDIS and saved her," Rose said, grabbing his arm in sudden realization.

"That was very rude of him to take it and not tell you," John said to the Doctor.

"I don't care as long as he saves her and brings them back to me. The problem is contacting him…if there even is a him, we still don't know for sure if that's the correct theory. It could be something else."

John gasped with a sudden realization and the Doctor looked at him.

"You have a theory?" he said to him.

"Yeah. Donna does have the memories of a Time Lord. Whoever took her could have used a mind probe on her, wrote the book and used the TARDIS to bring the finished book back to this point in time."

"Why?" Jackie said.

"Don't know. But for the moment, Donna also has our mind," John said to the Doctor.

"True. But that still leaves the question of why someone would do that," the Doctor said. "And it would have to be someone who knows who I am."

"Which brings Torchwood back into the scenario," John said. "Even if Rose just mentioned the Doctor in passing, she might have perked someone's interest and with all that alien tech at their disposal…"

"But they took the TARDIS a few minutes after we came here," Jackie said. "How could have they known about it if we're here in Norway?"

"Me," Rose said.

Everyone looked at her.

"They were tracking me wherever I went," Rose said. "They put nanorobots in my bloodstream that allowed them to pinpoint my location in case I got lost or needed to get away fast. And I kept in contact with them as well. I also allowed them to take a sample of that background radiation stuff so they could lock on to the TARDIS and transmat me to its location."

"So someone at Torchwood got a bit too nosy about you," John said to the Doctor. "And used Rose to nick the TARDIS and Donna and get more information about you."

"I'm sorry, Doctor," Rose said. "When I let them take that background radiation, I didn't think anyone would use it against you…if that's what's happened."

"That's why I hate Torchwood. Even with Rose and Pete working there, they're still capable of underhanded stuff," the Doctor said. "But I don't blame you, Rose. You did that so you could find me and if you didn't find me; Davros would have succeeded with his reality bomb. You had selfless intentions when you did that. You didn't think that anyone would use the artron energy for a nefarious purpose. But…if that is what happened, we can start with Torchwood and try to track down whoever did it and get them to tell us where the TARDIS and Donna is and why he's turning me into a celebrity.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

After they ate and cleaned up, Jackie and John went back to their rooms but Rose stayed with the Doctor. It was late evening now and he was flipping through the television channels, looking for the nightly news. He figured if John was attacked today, it would be on the news. The time for Donna to be saved had long passed but the Doctor held on to the hope that whoever took the TARDIS saved her. Imagining any other scenario was too much for him to bear.

He finally found a newscast and stopped his channel surfing. The broadcast was in Norwegian so he was the only one who could understand it. But a few moments after he found it, there was a report on the assault at the bookshop and when the Doctor pointed it out, Rose went to get John so he could listen to it. The Doctor sat on the side of the bed and listened while a middle aged Norwegian newsreader described the frenzy at the bookshop and the fact that the Doctor had been sighted buying a copy of his own book. By this time, Rose and John returned and John stood by the bed and listened while Rose walked back around to her side.

"What are they saying?" she asked the Doctor as she sat down on the bed.

"They're describing what happened and they're wondering why I wanted a copy of the book," the Doctor said to her. "They think that perhaps I'm fact checking it, which we were. They're hoping I haven't left Norway yet so I can agree to more appearances. Apparently, a lot of people are angry they missed me at the bookshop. "

"I'm glad they missed me since the ones who were there nearly tore me limb from limb," John said.

"They're now likening it to the Beatles and Beatlemania," the Doctor said.

"Seriously?" Rose said. "You're that popular?"

"Alien who travels through time and space and who's been saving the Earth for millennia?" John said. "I can see how that might capture the imagination of the public."

The Doctor chuckled.

"What?" Rose said.

"Oh…they are talking about making a film about me now, based on the book," the Doctor said with a wry grin. "I'm not only the Beatles; I'm Tom Cruise as well."

"Can I come to the premiere then when the film gets made?" Rose teased him.

The Doctor didn't say anything in reply. He was watching the telly with a raised eyebrow. Now they were showing footage of several people wearing long red robes and gold plastic skullcaps. One young man in front was holding the book up in the air like it was a holy relic and they were all chanting something in Norwegian. The Doctor and John were exchanging looks of disbelief.

"What's going on now?" Rose said, pointing to the TV.

"It appears some humans have gone off their trolleys," John said. "This lot is worshipping the Doctor or at least they're chanting "The Doctor is supreme" while dressing up as Time Lords."

"You mean those robes they had on? That's how you lot dressed on Gallifrey?" Rose said.

"Not everyone. Their outfits are modeled on Time Lord robes and regalia. They did describe it in the book. But yes, it seems I have some disciples now among the adoring public."

"And now that bloke said that this whole…worshipping thing is happening worldwide. That some people seem to be forming a religion based on the Doctor."

"Seriously? You're a god now?" Rose said, bemused.

"If I'm a god, they need to start treating me a bit more gently when I'm out in public," John said. "Thank heavens you still had those perception filters, I have a feeling our lives will depend on those now."

The report on the Doctor ended and the Doctor switched off the TV, his mind swirling with all this new information. John bid them goodnight and kissed Rose on the cheek before heading out. When he shut the door behind them, Rose put her hand on the Doctor's shoulder.

"I'll go as well, let you think awhile," she said.

"Thank you," the Doctor said. "I just need to study this book a bit more and think of a plan. Whatever the reason for all this happening, I think our first stop should be Torchwood when we get back to London. Whoever this George White is, he's causing a frenzy and I have a feeling it's intentional. Humans can be very passionate about things but someone or a group of someones is stirring up the passion and turning me into a god. That can't be good. Besides, I don't wanna be treated like a god. I really don't wanna be treated like a celebrity. When I come to Earth, I want to come and go as I please and do what I want without starting a kerfuffle. But we can't do anything tonight. Get some rest, Rose. We need to be ready to tackle this problem with clear minds."

Rose nodded. She kissed his cheek and lingered there a moment with her nose on his cheek. The Doctor smiled at that and squeezed her hand briefly before letting go and allowing her to leave the room. Once she was gone, the Doctor picked up the book from the bedside table, found where he'd stopped reading and finished the book.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Jackie looked over when she heard a knock on the door. She'd managed to purchase an English language book from the bookshop before the riot started and since she couldn't understand anything that was said on TV, she was reading it now. She put the book down and answered the door.

"Hello," John said. "We're going to sleep and I wondered what time you wanted to get up and if we were having breakfast."

"Yes. Um...probably around eight if Pete hasn't come yet. Are you alright? Those people nearly tore you in half today."

"I'm fine," John said. "Thanks for your concern."

"Well, the last thing I want is to see you get ripped apart. Now get some sleep and we'll all have breakfast in the morning."

John nodded. He started to walk away but his eyes widened when he realized he couldn't move.

"Jackie, something's wrong. My feet won't work," he said to her.

Jackie tried to move towards him and to her horror, she realized her feet were also frozen. Both of them tried to move and while that happened a funny feeling came over John, like he was being bombarded with static electricity.

"Something's happening to my body," Jackie said.

"Mine too," John said.

At that moment, Rose was walking towards her room. She noticed John standing at the door to Jackie's room and headed towards him. John saw her.

"Rose, something's happening to us. We can't move!" he said to her.

Rose sprinted towards the room while the Doctor, who heard him yell, opened his door. He was about to follow Rose to the room when suddenly a bright light enveloped John. The Doctor sprinted up the hallway but by the time he and Rose got to Jackie's room, the bright light was gone and both John and Jackie had disappeared.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

The Doctor stood inside the now empty hotel room, staring at it in shock. Even since he landed on Pete's World, things had gone from bad to worse. He wasn't even a citizen of this universe and yet something seemed to be targeting him, attacking not only him but also his friends. As he stepped further into the room, his nose breathed in the slight hint of an energy exchange and he realized that his friends had been transmatted. He wondered why he hadn't smelt the same thing on the beach and then surmised that the strong wind and mist and spray from the ocean masked the smell from his keen senses. He walked over to the bed and examined it while he listened to Rose explaining the situation to Pete over her mobile. He could see a slight indentation from where Jackie had been sitting. He sniffed the air and caught the same transmit scent hovering over the bed. He sighed deeply. Jackie wasn't his favorite person in the world but she didn't deserve to be kidnapped and imprisoned and possibly tortured. Neither did John, even though he was still upset with what he did on the Crucible, he knew that it had been done with the best of intentions which was why he had been willing to leave him with Rose.

He turned to Rose who was now visibly upset while she spoke to Pete over the phone. She glanced at him and he gave her a reassuring smile before walking over to her. Rose nodded at something, told Pete that they would wait for him and ended the phone call.

"He's nearly here," Rose said to the Doctor as she put the mobile back in her pocket. "Probably a few more hours but…what do we do about Mum and John?"

"They've been transmatted somewhere," the Doctor said. "Other than that, I don't know where they've gone. I could try to trace it but I need to find something that will do that since the TARDIS isn't here. I s'pose I could go to…"

He grimaced.

"Torchwood with you," he continued. "Use my perception filter and follow you. I'm sure they'd have something that could help us…although, by the time we got there the energy trace would have dissipated."

"Maybe someone will try to contact you," Rose said.

"I hope so because I have no real way of finding the TARDIS or Jackie, Donna and John."

Rose jerked her head around when she heard the lift door opening and several excited voices coming from it. Several men stepped out with the hotel clerk. The clerk pointed to Rose and said something in Norwegian. Rose frowned in confusion for a moment then her eyes widened when the men pulled digital cameras out of their pockets and ran towards her.

"Miss, you are with the Doctor, yeah?" One of them yelled with a heavy accent.

Rose gasped and ran inside. She slammed the door shut and locked it just as they reached her. She turned to the Doctor while the men pounded on the door and demanded to be let inside. He gave her a pointed look and showed her a modified TARDIS key hanging around his neck.

"They found me out," he said softly to her. "I heard that one bloke tell them that he's seen you with me. That's what he was saying to them before they ran over here. "

"What do we do?" Rose said, trying to ignore the pounding and cries of the men to open the door.

"Open it. Tell them something to draw them away from here. I'll stand in the corner and stay still and with luck, they won't notice me."

Rose nodded. The Doctor walked to the far side of the room and leaned back against the back wall. He put his hands in his trouser pockets and nodded to Rose. Rose turned her attention towards the door, afraid what the men would do to her since they were in such a frenzy. Trusting that the Doctor could help her if they tried anything, Rose steeled herself and opened the door.

"STOP IT!" she yelled, deciding to try a shock tactic.

It worked. The men fell silent at her sudden outburst and the angry look on her face. Then the man who called to her earlier stepped forward.

"Miss, we are journalists. My name is Sven. We heard that the Doctor was here and that he was staying in this hotel. The man at the front desk said you know him, is this so?"

Rose noticed the desk clerk standing behind the journalists. She fought the urge to lunge forward and punch him as he peered inside the room for a glimpse of the Doctor. She wanted to tell these men she didn't know the Doctor, except she knew the clerk would say otherwise. She noticed that no one seemed to notice the Doctor and the fact that he was in the room watching her gave her an extra bit of courage. She squared her shoulders and calmly looked them in the eyes.

"Yes, I know him," she said to them.

She was taken aback when the men all yelled out questions and started taking her photo.

"NO, STOP! STOP IT!" Rose yelled at them as she held her hand up to her face. "YOU LOT STOP THIS OR I SHUT THE DOOR!"

The men stopped taking her photo but they still yelled out their questions in heavily accented English. Because of the accents, it took a moment for Rose to figure out what they were asking. She pointed to Sven and told him she would take his question first. The others shut up and listened intently.

"What is he like?" Sven said as the others leaned in to listen to Rose.

"He's wonderful," Rose said truthfully. "He's one of the greatest people I've ever known."

"Is he really an alien?" another man asked her.

Rose hesitated on that, wanting to say no in order to protect her lover from these frenzied men. She decided that perhaps honesty was the best policy since she figured if she said no, that would only invite more scrutiny.

"Yes, he is," she said to them.

"Are you an alien?" Sven asked.

"No."

"Do you have sex with him?" a journalist asked.

Rose's eyes widened at the brazen question. She imagined the Doctor standing behind her, holding back a snigger while he watched.

"No," she lied. "I'm his friend."

"Are you the leader as well as his friend?" Sven asked.

Rose frowned.

"Leader of what?" she said.

"You are the…"

Sven fell silent for a moment, thinking, and then asked the other men something in Norwegian. There was a bit of a conversation between them before Sven turned back to Rose.

"Sorry, my English is not perfect," Sven said to Rose. "I was trying to find the right word. I believe it is called…disciple?"

"What?" Rose said. "Disciple of what?"

"Of him, the Doctor," Sven said.

"I'm not his disciple," Rose said incensed.

"According to the book, he gathers people together from all over the universe and they join him," Sven said.

"Yeah, we travel with him and see time and space," Rose said.

"And you worship him as well?" another man asked.

Rose stared at him in shock. The Doctor hadn't gone into much detail about what was in the book so this was what the book was hinting at?"

"Wait, he's not a god," Rose said, holding up her hands. "He's a man who travels through time and space and sometimes he brings people along with him. It doesn't mean we worship him."

"But he saves people," Sven said.

"Yeah. Still doesn't mean he's a god," Rose said. "He believes in standing up for what's right and fighting injustice Wait. Do you lot think he's a god then?"

She could tell by the uneasy looks on the men's faces and shifting of their feet what the answer was.

"He has saved humans many times over," Sven said.

"Yes but that doesn't make him a god," Rose said. "He loves Earth, it's one of his favorite planets."

The men looked pleased with that and Rose wondered if that only strengthened their view of him being a god. She wished she could turn to look at the Doctor. She imagined him having a bemused look on his face right now.

"Where is he right now, Miss?" Sven said.

"He's…outside. Walking around the city," Rose said.

"Where?" Sven said.

"I…don't know. I don't know your city that well so I can't tell you where he's gone. I suppose you should just go look for him."

She hoped to God that she was convincing enough with her lies. After hearing what happened to John in the bookshop, the last thing she wanted was for these men to overwhelm her and the Doctor and possibly injure them both. She signed when the men didn't move.

"Look around the room, is he in here?" she said, deciding to test the Doctor's explanation of the perception filter.

She finally turned and caught the Doctor's eye. He was still leaning against the wall and just as expected, he was wearing an amused expression on his face. The men came into the room and Rose held her breath while they looked around. She noticed the Sven and the others did look at the Doctor but to her relief, their eyes swept past him without noticing he was there. After two minutes of looking, the men turned, dejected, and Rose let out a long sigh through her nose when they finally left the room. Once the clerk was gone, she shut the door and quickly locked it.

"You mean you're not my disciple then?"

Rose turned and eyed the Doctor when he said that. The Doctor grinned and winked and walked towards her.

"Told ya. The perception filter works," he said smugly.

"Good thing since they looked like they would tear you to bits," Rose said.

"Nah, they'd just fall to the ground before me, slobbering and drooling with everlasting admiration," the Doctor said, putting his arms around her. "You were stellar. I have to use you as my press agent now."

"That's what was in the book? That you were a god?" Rose said.

"No. That's what the humans decided. The book described some of my adventures and said that I'd saved the Earth numerous times but I suppose everyone took it to meant I was….well….if not God, then a god."

"So…it's like saying that aliens built the pyramids," Rose said. "Like that Stargate film where the ancient Egyptian gods were aliens. That's why they think that?"

"Probably. Not that aliens haven't visited and had a hand in human civilization but most of them were here to help not to be worshipped. That's you lot and your primitive minds thinking that up."

"And now you're next," Rose said.

"Seems so. And I have a feeling that little group is just the start of it. But it's not just them apparently."

"It's worldwide," Rose said with a sinking feeling. "So nowhere is safe. You'd be mobbed everywhere you went. You'd have to wear that filter thing 24/7 now."

The Doctor let go of her and walked to the window in the middle of the back wall. Rose followed him as the Doctor stopped and looked out, his hands behind his back. Rose came up beside him and put her hand on his shoulder while she watched him.

"Penny for your thoughts," she said softly.

"I'm thinking about temptation," he said, glancing at her.

"How'd ya mean? What sort of temptation?"

"The temptation to use this whole…god thing as a way to improve humanity," he said as he watched people going about their business down below. "If I have this much power and influence now, imagine what I could do with it."

"Rule the Earth?" Rose said tentatively. "Doctor, that's not you. You wouldn't do that."

"I wasn't talking about ruling the Earth," the Doctor said as he gazed out the window. "I was thinking more along the lines of coming out from behind the scenes and working with the leaders of the world to advance humanity to the next level. I do that anyway, you know, just not in an official capacity."

"Yeah but this lot want to make you a god, they'd never settle for you just being an advisor. You'd have all these humans bowing and scraping at your feet."

"And that is the downside of the temptation," the Doctor said, looking at her. "The temptation to assert my will over humanity and rule them."

"You wouldn't do that," Rose insisted.

"You were there when Mister Fitch offered me something similar to that. It took Sarah Jane's intervention to snap me out of imagining what I could do if I were given that much power. That's why I had to take the TARDIS out of you, because you were beginning to think yourself a god. That's why I can never do what you did that day. I' m not human but that doesn't mean I'm not susceptible to temptation. Sometimes it takes a tremendous force of will for me to not interfere more than I do. I help out when I can but I still have to let humanity make mistakes and decide their destiny. I can't be your god, Rose, and I don't want to be. I love humankind, flaws and all. The last thing I want is a bunch of mindless puppets falling to their faces in front of me and doing whatever I want them to do, especially since I don't have all the answers in the first place."

"But that's what someone is doing. They're making you into a god."

"Or they're at least influencing people into thinking that. But why? Why does someone want to make a god out of me?"

Rose wished she had an answer for that. For the moment, she was content to hold the Doctor and stand with him while he laid his chin on the top of her head and rubbed her back while he stared out the window.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

The Doctor and Rose lay on his bed in his room while they waited for Pete to come. They decided to stay together in case the journalists came back. The Doctor still had a spare perception filter so he gave it to Rose since she was now in danger, at least until they left the city. The TV was on and the Doctor was looking for more news reports or chat shows that mentioned him or the book. He finally found some sort of chat show where a group of three scientists sat at a table with a moderator and discussed him. It was in Norwegian so Rose closed her eyes and relaxed while the Doctor listened to the discussion. So far, the scientists were debating whether he was genuinely an alien or whether this was all a hoax. The Doctor felt hopeful at that. Perhaps he could somehow influence the humans and get them to think it was all a hoax, better than going everywhere with the perception filter on while he worried about getting mobbed by crazed people.

Now they were discussing David Icke and the conspiracy theory involving reptilian aliens ruling the Earth. The Doctor had to chuckle about that. A few stray Silurian woke from hibernation and were seen by humans in passing and now there are people who believed that they were disguised as world leaders. The Doctor knew better. Humans were already good at mucking up their own planet without the assistance of other aliens. But these scientists were wondering whether the Doctor was a part of the reptilian overlords that was enslaving humanity. Again, the Doctor let out a chuckle.

"What's so funny?" Rose said, opening her eyes slightly to look at him.

When he told her, Rose had to laugh with him.

"If you're a great big reptile alien, that's a pretty convincing disguise since I've seen ya naked and touched your body," she said.

"I can assure you that I'm a humanoid and all the world leaders are human as well. No one but you lot are enslaving the humans," he said.

"So if they think all this, they want to destroy you then? " Rose said worriedly.

"Dunno. But those journalists didn't mention anyone wanting to destroy me, only worship me. Maybe they think if they fall at my feet, I won't eat them or something like that."

"Oh, that's why you take people with ya. You're fattening them up for slaughter," Rose said with a twinkle in her eyes.

"Fattening you up? With all the running we do? More like making you lean," the Doctor teased back. "Apparently, I like lean meat on my human cattle."

They fell silent while the Doctor listened to the scientists. Rose watched TV, even though she had no idea what was being said. While she watched, she mulled over what the Doctor said before about temptation. After being with him and seeing what he was capable of, she knew he could be ruthless at times but also capable of great mercy and goodness. She would choose him to lead over most of the world leaders. She felt like he could really make a difference in the world. After all, he'd made a difference in her life and changed her for the better. But she thought back to the Crucible and what Davros and Caan had said, about turning her and the others into weapons and revealing his soul. She had never thought of herself as his weapon but then again, she never carried a gun or fought aliens when she was a simple shopgirl. She realized then that he really did have the power to influence people on a large scale and enthrall them to the point they'd do anything for them. She suddenly had a vision of him standing on a platform behind a podium like Hitler and influencing an army of humans to do his bidding. She knew that she would give her life for him in a heartbeat so it wasn't much of a stretch imagining an army wanting to do the same. She looked at him, looked at his boyish, youthful face and realized how deceptive the youthful face was, how much it hid the true power inside the Doctor. No wonder many people underestimate him and dismiss him at first glance only to regret it later.

She raised her eyebrow when the Doctor chuckled again.

"Now what?" she said.

"Oh, these humans," the Doctor said, waving his hand dismissively. "They're coming up with all sorts of theories about me. Now they're wondering if I'm a robot. Spaceship crashes into Big Ben, Sycorax over London and some people still can't believe aliens really exist. You lot have a talent for tunnel vision, I'll give you that."

"Are you going to go on one of these programs and try to calm everyone down then?"

"Dunno. After what happened to John at the bookshop, I really don't have a desire to jump into the middle of all this. But…" he said with a sigh, "if it means putting a stop to this whole cult thing, I s'pose I'll have to do it. But my first priority is still the missing people and TARDIS. This whole cult thing can wait, let them continue to think I'm a lizard or an android or some bloke perpetrating a hoax. Maybe this whole thing will die out by itself…I hope."

"Doctor, do you think someone took the TARDIS to force you to stay here and confront all…this," she said, gesturing to the TV.

The Doctor shrugged.

"Seems like it. But that brings us back to the question of who is doing this since I'm sure George White is just a pseudonym."

Rose's mobile rang and the Doctor watched while she pulled it out of her pocket and answered it. She spoke for a few minutes before ending the call.

"It's Dad, he's downstairs. I told him not to come up in case the arsehole at the desk follows him and finds us."

"On with the perception filters then," the Doctor said.

Rose put her filter on and the two of them carefully left the room and shut the door behind them.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Once they were inside Pete's jeep, he drove them out of town as quickly as he could.

"So you don't have any idea where Jacks is?" Pete asked the Doctor as he sat beside him.

"Not yet. I was hoping Rose could take me to Torchwood. I might be able to find something there that can help us," he said.

Pete glanced at Rose in the rearview mirror.

"You do know what's happening?" he said to her as she sat behind him. "This Doctor mania isn't just here; it's beginning to spread all over the world."

Rose told him about the perception filter and showed him the one hanging around her neck. Pete nodded.

"On your own head then," he said to the Doctor. "I wouldn't rely on those perception things totally. Torchwood might have something that can see through it."

"I wouldn't doubt it," the Doctor said. "But we have to try. I can't run a proper scan now since I don't have my TARDIS. I need something else."

"Dad, do you know if someone at Torchwood is doing all this?" Rose said. "I mean, you haven't talked to anyone about the Doctor, have you?"

"Only in passing," Pete said. "I read the book and I haven't a clue about what goes on on Gallifrey."

"I don't either," Rose said. "I mean, I do know a little…"

"But not as much as the author does," the Doctor said. "I don't tell people about my childhood and that included Rose."

"So someone knows you intimately then," Pete said, glancing at him.

"Or there's another version of me in this universe," the Doctor said.

"If there is, Torchwood's never found him," Pete said.

"Torchwood doesn't know everything," the Doctor said. "What about this George White, has he shown himself before?"

"Yes and no. He talks to the press and goes on chat shows and such but he's always in shadow. No one's ever seen his face and when he goes out, he's hooded."

"And people trust him?" Rose said. "He won't show his face and they believe everything he's said?"

"Not everyone believes, not yet anyway. The people who believe are mainly conspiracy theory buffs," Pete said. "People who believe aliens are ruling us anyway. They think that you're the leader now," Pete added, glancing at the Doctor.

"There are no reptilian aliens ruling you lot, trust me," the Doctor said.

"I believe you but I'm sure you're aware that many people are very dim and easily led."

Rose chuckled when the Doctor let out a huge snort in response.

"Well, If you lot are looking for me to lead you, you can find someone else to do the job. They tried to get me to lead Gallifrey and I ran away from that. I have no desire to sit at a desk and tell Rose to do my bidding."

Rose laughed when Pete turned his head and gave her a dubious look.

"And you would, wouldn't you?" Pete said, turning his attention back to the road.

"Um…maybe, depends on what he wants me to do," Rose said, playfully poking the Doctor's shoulder. "I won't shoot people but I will fetch sandwiches."

"Ooo, bacon butty then, now!" he said, snapping his fingers at her.

"In all seriousness though, you might not want to show your face. Jacks told me what happened to your clone at the bookshop. You would get that on a massive scale if you went out."

"I'm well aware of that," the Doctor said. "But I can't stay in your house, I need to find out what happened to Jackie, John and Donna and the TARDIS and find out why someone is making me into a god."

"John?" Pete said, frowning.

"My clone. I use the alias John Smith from time to time so he adopted the name to avoid confusion between us," the Doctor said.

Pete nodded. They drove on and everyone fell silent for awhile. The Doctor stared at the scenery outside the passenger window and listened to the sound of the engine. There weren't many people on the road so it was a peaceful ride. Pete drove about 60 miles before finding a gas station. He pulled in and handed the Doctor and Rose some money so they could get something to snack on inside the convenience store. While Pete pumped the gas, the Doctor and Rose went inside. The Doctor wasn't really hungry so he walked towards the back where the sodas and juices were at. He stood in front of the glass doors and scanned the drink selections before reaching in and grabbing a small bottle of Coke. He closed the door and turned to see Rose standing behind him.

"I need my caffeine, I'm not hyper enough," he teased her as he jiggled the bottle in front of her eyes.

"Doctor, I've been thinking," Rose said as she stepped up beside him to the doors.

"Yes?" the Doctor said, turning to look at her.

"John. Could someone use John and brainwash him into thinking he's you and use him to spread this cult thing?" Rose said.

The Doctor sighed. He had thought of that. It always amazed him how likeminded he and Rose really were.

"I considered that," he said while Rose reached in to grab a bottle of orange juice. "My mind is…stronger than yours, in some ways. I'm not as susceptible to brainwashing as a human would be. But John is half human and the bulk of this Time Lord mind went to Donna."

"So he could…"

"In theory, yes," the Doctor said. "He's more susceptible to hypnosis as well and mind control. And…he's already shown a willingness to annihilate others if need be. So someone could use him to lead an army."

"But what about Mum? And Donna?"

"Your mother was probably an innocent bystander. I suspect John was the target when they transmatted them. She was in the same room so she was taken with him. Donna…"

He let out a ragged sigh and Rose put her hand on his arm.

"If Donna is still alive," he said, forcing himself to say it, "she could have been an innocent bystander and the TARDIS was the target or…if someone found a way to sustain her Time Lord mind…"

"Another Doctor to control?" Rose finished for him.

"Perhaps," the Doctor said, nodding. "Although, she'd have the Time Lord mind so they'd have to do something else to control her besides brainwashing. Then again, we have no idea who we're up against or how powerful they are. For all I know, they could have the means to assert their will despite the Time Lord mind. That's why we need to find out what's going on as quickly as possible. Especially if our thought about John is spot on and he's going to be made over into me…well, a more ruthless version of me at any rate."

He glanced over when Pete opened the door and called for them to come.

"Come on, we'll discuss this later," he said as he and Rose took their drinks up to the cashier.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

The first thing John saw after the bright light was darkness. Impenetrable darkness with no source of light that he could see. He looked around and heard Jackie calling to him. He called back and reached out his hand, grasping at the air while he tried to find her hand. Thirty seconds later, her hand found his and he led her to his side.

"Where are we?" Jackie said. "I can't see a bloody thing."

"Neither can I," John said. "And I have a feeling that doesn't bode well for us."

"Rose? Rose! Are you here?"

"I don't think she came with us," John said. "She didn't reach the room in time. I think it's just you and me."

"Great. The last thing I want is to be trapped in a room with you."

John wanted to say "likewise" but he bit back the retort while he tried to keep calm and think of a way out. The air was cool but tolerable and there was a musty smell and the faint hint of the energy exchange from the transmat but other than that, there was nothing to hint at where they were. He cursed silently. His clothes were new, pulled from the TARDIS wardrobe on the spur of the moment so the pockets weren't loaded with useful things like the Doctor's pockets were. He had no torch so he had no way of determining if there was a door or not. For the moment, there was nothing to do except wait to see if someone was going to come and get them.

"Might as well sit down, Jackie," he said. "We're probably in for a long wait."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

(Meanwhile in the original universe…)

Clara was worried about the Doctor. Ever since the Tenth and War Doctor left them, he'd been a man on a mission. He didn't tell her what happened after she left him in the gallery but something did happen because when he came back inside, he seemed infused with a new energy and a new purpose in life. Since then, he'd been running scan after scan after scan trying to find out where Gallifrey went. She was happy that Gallifrey hadn't been burned and it could be out there somewhere but it'd been a week now and the search seemed to be consuming his whole life. He hadn't slept, he barely ate and they hadn't gone anywhere, except for a couple of bland places that Clara suspected the Doctor took her to because she whined to the point of getting on his nerves and he wanted to shut her up. Even when they went out of the TARDIS, he still seemed to be occupied with figuring out a way to reach Gallifrey and she finally gave up and left him to his own devices.

Except now he hadn't eaten in three days and Clara decided to finally put her foot down. So she headed to the console room, determined to get her friend to stop and get a good, long rest before tackling the problem again.

She found him in the middle of running another scan and he was so consumed with watching the monitor that he jumped when Clara slammed her hand down on the console.

"Alright! Enough!" she said to him.

"What?" the Doctor said.

"Take…a…break," Clara said.

She sighed when the Doctor gave her a blank look.

"Doctor, you need a rest. Quit running the scans and back away from the console. You need to eat at least."

The Doctor sighed.

"I'm sorry, it's just that…I want to know if my people really did survive," he said, stepping back from the console. "I need to know if Gallifrey is safe."

"I understand that but you can't keep doing this, you'll drop dead of exhaustion. Just…put it aside for the moment and get some rest."

The Doctor stared at his console and Clara knew he was debating whether to follow her advice or keep on going.

"Isn't there a way to find it?" Clara said, stepping in front of him. "Some sort of clue?"

"I've spent the last three days trying to figure that out, Clara," he said.

"It hasn't been three days, Doctor, it's been a week."

She sighed when the Doctor registered shock at that. She figured he'd been so focused on doing this that he lost track of time.

"A week? It's been a whole week?" he said in disbelief.

"Now you see why I want you to have a rest?" Clara said.

The Doctor nodded and Clara breathed a sigh of relief when he stepped completely away from the console and sat down.

"Sorry, I had no idea that much time had passed," he said to her while Clara stood beside him. "I wasn't neglecting you, honestly."

"Doctor, I understand," Clara said, squeezing his shoulder tenderly. "I know you're excited about Gallifrey still being out there but you need to pace yourself or you'll go bonkers. Or…more bonkers than you are now."

She smiled when the Doctor grinned at that.

"You mean I might become an even madder madman in a box?" he said.

"Yeah and I don't know if I could handle any more madness coming from you," Clara teased, pleased that the Doctor seemed to be returning to his old self once more.

"Look, I'll help you find Gallifrey any way that I can but can we at least stop and take a breath now and again?" she said.

"That rhymes," the Doctor said.

He chuckled and stood up when Clara rolled her eyes and grinned.

"Yes. We can take a breather, especially since it has been a week since I really did anything else. Blimey, time goes by fast when you're focusing on something, eh? Okay, where do you want to go then?"

Clara opened her mouth to answer but just like the first time she was at a loss for words. She'd spent so much time just trying to get him to stop fussing over the scans that she hadn't considered where to go if she succeeded. She shrugged.

"Pick something. Something awesome again," she said.

"Ah! I have quite a backlog of awesomeness stored in my noddle," he said, tapping at his temple. "I shall have to access the old database and find something that will wow you like never before."

"Look forward to it," Clara said. "And…well, while I'm being wowed…can't the TARDIS scan for you? I mean, she is alive, yeah? Can't she look for Gallifrey while you're out?"

"I suppose so. Can you do that for me, Old Girl?" he said, walking over and patting the console. "Just try and let me know if you do find it…um…"

He reached into his trouser pockets and pulled out Martha's mobile.

"Here," he said, holding it out to the console. "Scan this and ring it if, by a slim chance, you really do find something, yeah?"

His ship grunted and Clara heard a soft humming that she assumed was the TARDIS scan of the mobile. Then the hum stopped and the Doctor thanked the TARDIS as he put his mobile back in his pocket.

"Right!" the Doctor said, slapping his hands and turning his attention to Clara. "Time to access my Doctor Database and find a bit of awesome for you to enjoy!"


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

While Pete drove them, the Doctor and Rose sat in the back seat. Pete played some music for them to pass the time but Rose could tell the Doctor was feeling a bit antsy while he kept shifting slightly in his seat.

"This is why I like traveling in TARDISes," he muttered to Rose. "We can skip over the driving around Europe and get home."

"Although, the scenery is nice," Rose teased him. "It's so…scenic."

She giggled when the Doctor snorted at that.

"I'd prefer to get back to London and skip the scenic scenery," he said. "While we sit here, time is being wasted."

"Dad, can't we fly back. He's right. We need to get there quicker," Rose said.

"I have a private jet waiting for you, I just need to drive there so can you calm down until then?" Pete said, looking at them in the rearview mirror.

"Depends on how far it is to the airport," the Doctor muttered to Rose.

He frowned when Rose giggled and scooted towards the door on her side.

"What are you doing?" the Doctor said, confused while he watched Rose jiggle the door handle with an impish look on her face.

"I'm going to imperil myself and give you something to do so you won't be bored," Rose said. "I'm going to go out and hang off the back of the jeep. Come and save me, Doctor."

Pete looked in the rearview mirror when he heard his adopted daughter squeal and he saw the Doctor seize her around the middle and pull her back towards him.

"You don't tempt the Oncoming Storm with fake rescue attempts," he growled in her ear while she made a halfhearted attempt to wriggle out of his arms. "I might just let you fall off the back of the jeep if you do that."

"Then why did you grab me just then?" Rose purred as she snuggled against him.

"Eh, I don't want to inconvenience Norway by letting them clean up the mess you'll make after you bounce fifty times on the motorway," he said. "Blood, bones and sinew everywhere. Norway is too scenic for that. Besides, I might need tea and who'll fetch me tea if you're a decapitated bloody mess all over Norway? Hmm?"

Pete kept glancing at them as he drove. He stared at his daughter and realized that he'd never seen her so happy. Snuggling with the Doctor, she looked completely at ease and content and he could see a twinkle in the Doctor's eyes while he gazed at her. He noticed the loving look on the Time Lord's face and he finally realized just how devastating it had been for Rose to lose him and why she'd been so adamant about finding him again even at the risk of her own life. Even though he wasn't from Earth and was far older than she was, the two of them were a perfect match for one another and listening to Rose's laugh and seeing how happy she was warmed Pete's heart.

As for the Doctor, he also was loving the fact that Rose was laughing and relaxing against him, just like old times. He knew he shouldn't encourage this, especially since he knew he'd have to leave her as soon as everything was sorted. But he couldn't help himself, after all this time his hearts still yearned for her. His loneliness and longing for her overrode the need to keep her at arm's length so for the moment, he decided to make the most of the fact that they were together again.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

When they finally reached the airport, Pete told them to wait in the concourse while he let the officials know that they were there and ready to leave. The Doctor walked over to a large plate glass window that overlooked the runway. He stood there, watching planes take off and land while he waited. Both he and Rose were wearing perception filters and so far no one had noticed them. He hoped they would be able to leave Norway without having to fight off a mob of people. He was glad that Pete arranged a private jet for them; it would save them the trouble of having to hide among people on the plane ride home. Now that he was once again left alone to his thoughts, he began to wonder about his friends and his ship. Were they safe or was it too late? Was he stranded here forever, stuck on the slow path with Rose. He had planned to leave John with her so Rose could have someone to grow old with. Was that to be his fate instead? He loved Rose dearly, to be stuck with her wouldn't be a hardship but stuck without his TARDIS, damned to live on Earth as a human, that scenario chilled him to the bone. Sitting in the car and being bored to death was bad enough without having to spend the rest of his lifetimes living out a linear timeline…and watching Rose grow old before his eyes and eventually die…that thought also chilled him.

He looked over when Rose came up beside him and stared out the window. She'd grown older since he'd last seen her, grown more beautiful and more mature. She was so brave. Facing the Daleks and Davros, she never once showed fear. How much she'd grown since he first took her away with him. It was hard to believe that he could find such a compatible person among the apes. Of all the people he had lost over the years, he loss affected him more deeply than any other. He'd been able to get over the loss of his other companions, even his granddaughter, Susan, but Rose…he never stopped yearning for her. Maybe he was getting lonely in his old age; maybe he really did need someone who was more than a platonic friend. If he had to have a mate, he couldn't think of a better match than the woman beside him.

When Pete returned, he introduced him and Rose to a young woman dressed in a blue pantsuit. She was in her early thirties, long brown hair with blonde highlights framed a slightly chubby face and her pale blue eyes gazed at them warmly as she extended her hand to the Doctor.

"I'm Catherine Jones," she said with a slight Welsh accent, "I'm part of Torchwood. We were part of the liaison team that scheduled your flight home. Pete said that you wished to visit Torchwood with Rose?"

The Doctor wasn't sure about Torchwood knowing about his visit, he'd hoped to use the filter to go in and secretly observe but he figured Pete and Rose would have to figure out a way to get him past their security measures and maybe it was easier for him if they knew. He recalled Jake telling him that the Torchwood here wasn't corrupt like the one in his world. He hoped that was the case while he nodded and told Catherine he did wish to visit.

"I need to find my friends and my TARDIS," the Doctor told her. "I have no means to do it. I was hoping you might have something."

"We'll see what we can do for you," Catherine said to him. "In the meantime, I'll be accompanying you on the flight home and making sure you and Rose aren't harmed. There is a sort of cult rising up around you."

"Yes, I've noticed that," the Doctor said dryly.

"We may have something that can help with that as well," Catherine said. "We did develop holographic disguises that can be used to hide your real bodies."

"Good," the Doctor said.

Catherine glanced at Pete.

"Pete also told me about your negative experiences with the Torchwood in your universe," she said. "I assure you we're much more responsible than that lot and you will not be our prisoner while you are visiting."

"Thank you," the Doctor said.

"Now if you come with me, I'll take you to your plane," Catherine said.

Rose hugged Pete goodbye before taking the Doctor's hand. The two of them followed Catherine as she led them down to the runway.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The Doctor was surprised when they entered the jet. It was posh with plush leather seats, wooden tables and a mini fridge filled with drinks and snacks. Catherine chuckled at the Doctor's surprised look.

"This is a Torchwood jet," she said to him. "We frequently travel so we designed our jet to resemble Air Force One. We have comfortable seats, tables for meetings and we do have a large flat screen TV mounted in the back wall that we can use to review information or pass the time. We have food and drink if you're hungry and in case of attack, we have missiles stored in the underbelly. We also have outfitted it with alien tech so it goes faster than a normal jet. We'll be in London in just under an hour so make yourselves at home while I tell the pilot and copilot to get ready for takeoff."

She left them while she headed to the front. Rose came up beside the Doctor.

"You knew about this…wonder plane of theirs?" he said to her.

"I helped them build it," Rose said proudly. "They were using regular leer jets until Dad and me suggested that if we're going to fight aliens, time is of the essence. Besides, the old jets were rubbish. You thought the ride in the jeep was bad…"

"And our new friend, you know her?" the Doctor said.

"I do. She's a nice lady and she can be trusted."

The Doctor nodded at that. He frowned when Rose chuckled at that.

"What?" he said.

"You're very trusting, you know," she said, playfully poking his side. "If I told you dog poo was a gourmet treat, you'd take me at my word, wouldn't ya?"

"No, I just know how to read your open and incredibly expressive ape face," the Doctor teased back. "I can tell by your slack jaw and blank ape stare that you're telling the truth. Besides, when you lie to me, you fart in the key of F."

He sniggered when Rose swatted at his head before walking over to one of the tables. The Doctor watched while she bent down and opened up a tiny hatch in the floor. Curious, he walked over and watched while she pulled a small metal lockbox out of the hidey-hole in the floor. He peered over her shoulder and frowned deeper when she opened the box and grabbed a tiny black ray blaster. He stepped back when Rose stood up, whipped around and aimed it at him.

"Ha! Because you are under the authority of Torchwood, you are my slave now and you'll do everything I say…or else," she said smugly.

The Doctor grinned at that.

"You think this terrifies me," he said, pointing to the blaster. "I have no fear of this or of your unexpected treachery. I laugh at your pitiful gun, you mangy ape. Tee hee. See, I laughed."

Rose chuckled and handed the blaster to him.

"Nah, you can have this, just in case you need to fight off people," she said, bending back down to put the box in the hole.

"Fight off people from Torchwood then?" he said.

"No. I was thinking about having to fight off people who want to worship you and tear you limb from limb," Rose said as she closed the hatch. "I know you wouldn't kill them but you could scare them with that and get away from them."

The Doctor nodded. He made sure the safety was on before sliding it into his pocket. He heard the plane starting up and felt a slight vibration.

"Doctor, Rose," Catherine called to them. "Take a seat, the plane is about to take off."


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

The Doctor relaxed with a cup of hot tea while Rose sat across from him at one of the tables. The jet was not only fast but also quiet with minimal vibrations. The Doctor had to admit it was a brilliant idea and at least they didn't have to wait hours before reached London. Catherine made sure they were comfortable before going to the cockpit to get an update. Rose sipped her tea and stared out of a porthole shaped window beside her at the clouds below them. The Doctor studied her face. He was only half teasing when he said he could tell what she was thinking by her expression. It wasn't just that she was very open and expressive but two years of being together in his ship had tuned him in to her body language and biorhythms. He could tell she was troubled about something and he knew it was more than worry about her mother. He sensed it had to do with him and their relationship. She was trying to keep it from him but he knew, just like she knew when he was troubled about something. He finally decided that perhaps this was something that should be addressed, rather than let it hang between them the entire time he was stranded. He reached out, took her chin in his fingers and guided her face so she was looking at him.

"I need my penny back," he said to her.

"Huh?" Rose said.

"You asked me for a penny for my thoughts. I need my penny back, what are you thinking?"

Rose lowered her eyes to the table and the Doctor knew he had been correct in surmising it had to do with their relationship.

"That Martha, she said you found me when we were on the Crucible. You were searching for me then?" she said, finally looking at him.

The Doctor swallowed hard.

"I held out hope that I would find you but to be honest, that hope was very slim. If the boundaries between universes hadn't thinned, this reunion never would have happened."

"Then why did she say that?" Rose said.

"Because…because when she traveled with me, I kept mentioning you and I think…she was jealous because she fancied me. She and I never were more than friends though but she wanted something more and when I tried to ignore it and pretend she wasn't trying to be my lover, she became bitter. She never met you till the Crucible but I overheard her saying nasty things about you. I ignored it for the sake of keeping the peace but it did make me angry that she never even met you and here she was, setting you up to be the villain in her bid to be my lover. She finally wised up and left to find someone else and she did and I think she's over that now but it still hurt to have my friend saying spiteful things about you."

Rose took a sip of tea as she tried to keep her emotions in check. Hearing that the Doctor missed her and didn't want anyone else as his lover thrilled her to the core. She'd often wondered if he'd be with someone else when she found him again. It had terrified her that he might have moved on and forgotten about her when she spent many nights crying herself to sleep and aching for his touch. He was the most wonderful man she'd ever known. She never wanted to be separated from him ever again.

"Then afterwards, I found Donna again after meeting her just after you left," the Doctor continued. "But we're just best mates. She's never fancied me. But she's made an impact on me just the same. I suppose I needed a good friend after all that's happened."

"I'm glad because I never wanted you to end up alone," Rose said, caressing the back of his hand with her fingers. "You think you're a lone wolf but you're really not. You need people just as much as people need you."

"You were so brave when we were trapped in the Crucible," the Doctor murmured as he watched her fingertips stroking his hand. "I was frightened Davros might do something to you and here you were, standing up to him without the slightest trace of fear."

"That's because you were there with me," Rose said. "If there had been a wall between us, it might have been different but seeing you gave me courage. Besides, I'm not afraid of a raisin in a wheelchair."

She grinned when the Doctor sniggered at that.

"Yeah, I s'pose old Prune Face is a bit ridiculous looking," he said.

"You did that, you know. That was your influence," Rose said. "You took a scared shopgirl…"

"And turned her into a soldier?" the Doctor said.

"Well, no. I mean, I don't think of myself as a soldier. But you changed me for the better."

"But you are like a soldier, Rose, whether you want to believe it or not. When I saw Martha again after she left me, she was ordering troops about like a general and Donna asked me if I'd turned her into a soldier. I suppose that was my influence as well? I turn people into weapons?"

"No!" Rose said, holding up her hand. "Doctor, what they said in the Crucible. It's not true, alright?"

"But when I first saw you again, you were holding an enormous gun in your hands and you were just as bloodthirsty as the rest of them when Jack and Martha were threatening to destroy things. Isn't that my influence too?"

"Doctor, I'm sorry about that," Rose said, lowering her eyes. "When I said that, I wasn't hoping Jack and Martha would blow something up. I was just…thinking that they had Davros and the Daleks cornered. I was admiring that, not the fact that they wanted to kill people. I used that gun for defense only and I never killed anyone. You taught me not to kill, Doctor, so yes, that's your influence as well."

But I s'pose it all goes back to this…cult thing and me wanting to lead others," the Doctor said bitterly. "What I've done to the people who've traveled with me and how much I affected them is just a small sample of the power I have over others. If I'd told Jack or Martha to blow up the Earth or the Crucible, they would have gladly done it. I told you once I was dangerous to be around and now you see why."

He watched as Rose stood up, walked around the table and pulled up a chair beside him. She sat down, put her arms around him and laid her head on his shoulder.

"Because of you and what you taught me, I've been able to help save the universe and keep the Earth safe," she murmured. "You made me better just by example. I have a better life now because you became a part of it, Doctor, and I wouldn't trade it for anything. And I'm not your weapon. If you told me to kill someone, I would question it because that's not you…at least, you wouldn't want me to kill someone and I wouldn't do it because I know how much pain it would cause you. I'm your helper not your weapon. What Davros said is a load of rubbish. He was just trying to torment you. Don't listen to him. I was in Donna's universe and I saw how horrible things would be if you weren't around. You've done so much good in the universe and the universe needs you but you can't do it alone. Me and Sarah Jane and Jack and Martha and Donna and everyone else, we're…extensions of yourself now. We help pick up the slack because you can't be everywhere at once. I know you want to show other people the wonders of the universe and you do but you also set us down in the middle of danger and insist we help you so you've molded us into versions of yourself that can help you defend the universe and I'm proud that you thought enough of me to let me join your little club. You're the best thing that's ever happened to me, Doctor, and I love you more than words can say."

Unshed tears glistened in the Doctor's eyes and he gently kissed Rose's face.

"Thank you for that," he murmured as Rose watched him silently. "You always know what to say and I told Martha that as well."

"Blimey, no wonder Martha grew tired of me. You just rabbited on and on about me, didn't ya?"

"Oh, I might have done…just a tad but I felt the need to boast about my Earth Defender and all she's done."

Rose chuckled and leaned up to kiss his lips. She laid her face against his and the Doctor felt a sense of peace descending over him like a blanket as they stayed cuddled close together.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

John rocked back and forth while he sat on the floor of his prison. He figured it'd been at least two hours and still no light source or sign of anyone. He had to admit the darkened room was peaceful, especially since Jackie was quiet as well. The only sign she was beside him was her soft breathing and he guessed she was lost in her thoughts just like he was lost in his. He thought about Rose and focused on her. He hoped she was safe. He had no idea if the transmat was just the start but he had a feeling the Doctor and Rose were also being targeted.

Suddenly, a door slid open and both he and Jackie gasped when bright light hit their eyes. John threw up his hand over his eyes to shield them from the intense glare while he tried to see who was standing there. He couldn't see the face but whoever it was wore a long black robe and a cowl with black leather shoes and black gloves over his hands. The person had a blaster in his hand and he was aiming it at them. He raised his free hand and pointed at John.

"You," he said with a deep voice. "You will come with me quietly or the female dies."

"Where are we?" Jackie said as she got to her feet. "Why are we here?"

"Silence!" the man roared at her.

"Jackie, just keep quiet and sit down," John said, holding up his hand. "I'll go with you," he said to the man. "Just don't hurt her."

"Don't make trouble and I won't have any reason to hurt her," the man said.

John stepped forward, praying that Jackie would keep her mouth shut and sit down. He glanced back over his shoulder and was relieved to see her obey. They shared a glance before John stepped outside the doorway. He looked around while the man closed the door. They were in a metal corridor and he could see several shut doors on either side of it but there was nothing to indicate where they were and he had a feeling the robed man wasn't going to tell him. He turned and finally got a good look at the man's face and realized he had a hood over his head, obscuring his facial features. He figured he wouldn't get any answers from this man but he still felt he had to try.

"Who are you and where is Donna and the TARDIS?" he said to the man while he raised his blaster and pointed it at him.

"I am Tak'na," he said. "As for Donna Noble, follow me."

John's heart beat rapidly. Would he find Donna alive or dead. In a way, he was scared to find out. The other thing that bothered him was Tak'na's name and the way he was dressed. Tak'na meant revenge in Gallifreyan and the robe Tak'na was wearing was similar to the robes the Time Lords wore. Did that mean that Gallifrey did exist in this reality, despite all the legends he heard growing up? If so, were they friends or enemies?

"What do you want with us?" he asked.

Tak'na didn't reply but led John out of the corridor and into an enormous room. John's heart beat faster when he noticed The Seal of Rassilon etched in steel on the wall next to another corridor across the room.

"Time Lords?" he said in wonder.

"Correct," Tak'na said as he led him towards the corridor.

"But how can that be? The legends of my Gallifrey said that we only existed in one universe," John said.

Tak'na didn't reply which frustrated John all the more. He figured the historians got it wrong but all the same, it made him wonder how many versions of Gallifrey existed in all of reality.

"Did you have a Time War here?" he ventured.

"We fought the Time War, yes."

"But Gallifrey wasn't destroyed in this reality?"

Again, there was no reply and John sighed angrily. Apparently, Tak'na only responded to the right questions. They stopped in front of a door halfway down the corridor. Tak'na grabbed the right sleeve of his robe and raised it slightly to reveal a device strapped to his wrist that looked similar to Jack's vortex manipulator. There were four black buttons on a plastic panel in the center of the strap. He pushed the second button and the door slid open. He pushed the last button and John heard a hum as a light came on inside the room. He followed Tak'na inside and froze when he saw Donna lying on a black marble slab in the center of the empty room. She was lying on her back with her arms at her sides, her eyes closed and her face peaceful. There was an IV drip running into her right arm and a small metal machine with several buttons on it was at her left side. A black rubber hose ran out of the side of the machine to a leather collar that was strapped around her neck. John ran to Donna and knelt down, half afraid he was looking at her dead body. He let out a pent up sigh of relief when he heard her breathing but his relief quickly turned to rage when he tried to wake her and got no response.

"What is this? What have you done to her?" he said, standing up and turning to Tak'na.

"She is safe. We managed to preserve her body by draining her mind," Tak'na said calmly.

"You did what?" John growled as he fought to keep his rage in check. "You drained her mind? So she's just an empty shell now?"

"It was necessary. It was the only way to save your friend. We are keeping her mind safe until she can be safely restored. What you see beside her is life support," he said, pointing to the machine.

"And the TARDIS, where is she?" John said.

"In storage."

"And do I get it back?"

"That depends."

"On what?" John said, figuring he wasn't going to like what Tak'na was about to say.

"On how well you cooperate with us."

"And do what?" John said.

"We wish you to help us."

"And do what?" John said, hating how vague he was being. "I want to hear what you need help with before I decide whether or not..."

Tak'na laughed.

"You act as if you have a choice," he said, cutting John off.

"And I don't?" John said, folding his arms over his chest.

"If you don't cooperate, we'll disconnect Miss Noble's life support and send both her and the other female into deep space before we put you to death."

John's fists clenched.

"It's a bad idea to corner me," he snarled at Tak'na, "or make threats against my friends."

"You will help us, Doctor, or you will suffer enormously. We will not only target those on board but your friends on Earth, including your clone."

John was shocked. He thought Tak'na knew he was the clone. He was tempted to correct him but he suddenly decided to play along. Perhaps if Tak'na thought he was the Doctor, he could not only buy time for the real Doctor and Rose but also find out what Tak'na's plans were. He just hoped Tak'na didn't decide to run a scan of his body and find out he had a single heart because he was sure it would not go well for him if he did.

"Fine, I'm at your disposal," John said. "I just ask that you leave my friends and my other self alone and I'll cooperate."

"I figured you'd see reason," Tak'na said. "Now if you'll follow me, I'll show you what needs to be done."

Tak'na pointed towards the doorway with his blaster. John took one last look at Donna, taking comfort she was still alive, before he moved towards the doorway.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

The Doctor got out of the limousine behind Rose and took a long look at the Tyler Mansion.

"Nice to know the house recovered from the Cybermen attack," he said while Rose shut the door.

"Yeah. Dad said it took several thousand pounds to repair all the damage," Rose said while she and the Doctor followed Pete to the house.

When Pete opened the door, Rose the Yorkie ran up, yapping excitedly. Rose shot the Doctor a dirty look when he sniggered at that.

"Forgot about your parallel self, Rosie," he said, patting his lover's head. "Nice to know she survived the attack as well."

He picked up the yorkie and carried it into the house. Memories of the Cybermen attack came flooding back to him as they walked through the house. It was hard to believe it'd only been two short years since it happened.

After promising Rose that he would contact Torchwood and let them know the Doctor was interesting in visiting, Rose led the Doctor to her room. While they walked, Rose glanced back and smiled when she noticed the Doctor was still cuddling the yorkie against his chest.

"Trying to make friends with the other Rose, yeah?" she said to him.

"Doggie Rose and I got off to a bad start last time, I want to rectify that," the Doctor said. "Besides, she's soft and warm."

"She also likes to nip at ya and pee on things when no one's looking," Rose said.

"Well, I see you two have some similarities then," the Doctor said.

He snickered when Rose briefly flipped him the vees before stopping in front of her a closed door. It was a plain wooden door that was painted white with a brass doorknob.

"This is my room," Rose said over her shoulder.

"Really? No marble door with Queen Rose engraved into it?"

"Shut up," Rose said while he sniggered some more.

She opened the door and the Doctor followed her inside. The Doctor's eyes bulged when he noticed the walls were mainly made up of shelves filled with books. At the back between two shelves was a fireplace with a wooden mantle on top and off to the left was a large canopy bed with a pink duvet, a wooden side table and another table with two chairs.

"Let me guess, this used to be the library and he made it into a bedroom for you," the Doctor said as Rose shut the door.

"Yeah. Dad didn't have anywhere to put me," Rose said sheepishly.

The Doctor's eyes boggled.

"A mansion like this doesn't have any spare bedrooms?" he said.

"Yeah, it does but…Dad still has people come and spend the night, especially from overseas and for awhile, Mickey was using one of the bedrooms and his gran was as well before she died."

"Yeah, he told me that before we parted company," the Doctor said, putting Doggie Rose down on the floor when she began to squirm.

"And to be honest, Dad didn't know what to think of me when I first came here," Rose said with a shrug. "He put me in a guest bedroom for awhile but then he moved me when he had a group of businessmen visit him from Japan and they needed somewhere to stay. This was the only room not being used on a regular basis so he set me up in here."

"What? No one reads?" the Doctor said.

"Yeah, we do but Dad's always off on business or out at Torchwood and when I got a job there, I was too busy to read and Mum…"

The Doctor snorted when Rose trailed off.

"Yes, I wouldn't consider Chav Magazine heavy reading," he said, rolling his eyes.

"She doesn't read Chav Magazine," Rose said.

"Well, whatever she reads, Nails Monthly, Bitchy Harpies and Hags, whatever she thumbs through when she's not busy ogling the telly and eating chocolate," he said.

"All this time and you still don't like her," Rose said bemused.

"Eh," the Doctor replied as he wandered over to the mantle. "I can take her or leave her but in my opinion, the woman is best tolerated in small doses. I just pity whoever took her. I hope she doesn't drive them to torture with her incessant prattling."

Rose shook her head and smiled. She walked up beside the Doctor when she noticed he was eyeing a photo in a silver frame on top of the mantelpiece. It was a photo of her with him behind her. Both of them were smiling happily while he hugged her from behind.

"Had that in my pocket the day I left you," Rose said as she stood beside him and gazed at the photo. "It's my favorite photo of you. When we were separated, it was the only thing I had left of you. I take it down every day and stare at it and think of you."

The Doctor nodded but said nothing. He still had Rose's shirt that she wore that day on New Earth. He hid it from Donna after she found it and thrust it in his face. Time had lessened the pain but there were still days when he would retrieve it and hold it and remember the good times he and Rose had together. His attention was torn from the photo when Rose took his hand in hers and gave it a squeeze. He looked at her and his hearts lurched when he saw the longing in her eyes. He still intended to leave her with John but with each passing moment, he could feel himself weakening along with his resolve. He fought to keep the waves of desire inside him from becoming a tsunami but he couldn't deny the love he still felt for her. At that moment, however, there was a knock on the door and the Doctor breathed a sigh of relief when Rose took her eyes off him and walked towards it. He didn't know how much longer he could last. Rose was persuasive in her own way. He remembered how she kept at him the first time they were in Pete's World, using her charms to get him to visit the Tyler Mansion so she could see her father. If he was able to sway others and get them to do what he wanted, she had just as much ability to do that and he was sure she would use all her charms to convince him to be with her again. But for now, that moment had passed because Pete was at her door telling them that they needed to come with him to Torchwood at once.

"My coworkers want to meet with you, Doctor," Pete said to him. "They want to know what's going on and if they can offer assistance."

The Doctor wasn't too sure about that but he didn't have much choice at the moment. He had to accept help wherever he could find it. He put his hands in his pockets and waited while Rose shooed her canine counterpart out of the room before he followed her and Pete.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

Torchwood wasn't far from the mansion but by the time they arrived, there were several men and women gathered in the lobby to greet them. The Doctor stayed by Rose's side, eyeing the group warily. Even though Rose and Pete worked here, he still couldn't bring himself to trust them entirely. He scanned the group and recognized Catherine standing at the back but he couldn't see any sign of Jake so he asked about him.

"He's still in Europe with a team he's commanding, making sure that the Cybermen are well and truly gone," Pete said. "I rang him and told him you were here but he can't leave long enough to come and see you so he sends his greetings and hopes you're able to rescue your TARDIS and Jacks and your clone."

The Doctor nodded. The men and women stepped forward to introduce themselves. All of them were below the age of thirty and all of them seemed friendly enough but the Doctor still kept his guard up and kept things formal and polite between them. One of them was a young man in his early twenties with a haircut similar to his own. He was also wearing glasses similar to his brainy specs and he wore a lab coat over a powder blue t-shirt and blue jeans. He stepped forward and shook the Doctor's hand.

"I'm Robert. I'm a huge fan, Doctor," he gushed.

The Doctor was taken aback by that. He noticed Robert's coworkers were glancing at each other and sniggering or rolling their eyes. Catherine came up beside Robert.

"He's….caught up in the whole Doctor mania thing," she said sheepishly.

"Is it true you could help make us a better species?" Robert said, his eyes wide with awe.

"Well…" the Doctor said uneasily as Robert gazed at him in silent adoration. "I try to…I mean, in my reality I do but…I can't do everything for the human race. You lot have to make your own mistakes from time to time."

"But you're the guardian of humanity, right?" Robert said. "You can save us?"

"For God's sake, Robert, leave him alone," Catherine said, taking Robert's arm. "He's here for a meeting not to sign autographs."

The Doctor noted that for a second Robert shot Catherine a hostile look and he thought Robert was going to punch her for stepping in but his face softened and he nodded and with a muttered apology to the Doctor, fell back in with the others. The Doctor shifted uneasily when Robert continued to stare at him in awe, however, and he hoped that he wasn't going to be near him all day. To his relief, Catherine told him to go back to research and help out and with reluctance; Robert slunk away towards the lift. They waited until he was inside the lift before Catherine approached the Doctor.

"I'm so sorry. We tried to get him to stay put but…he's enamored of you," she said to him.

"And that's what's happening worldwide? What he's doing?" the Doctor said, pointing towards the lift.

Another man, Sebastian, stepped forward. He was Asian, in his late twenties with a shaved head and glasses with thick black frames. He also wore a lab coat but when he stepped up, the Doctor noticed a Bruce Lee t-shirt under it.

"People are reacting the way Robert reacted, yes," he said with a slight Chinese accent. "They are putting forth the idea that you can solve the world's problems. You know, benevolent alien comes down from on high to sort things out and all that."

"I hate to disappoint you lot but that's not what a Time Lord does. I 'm not even supposed to interfere, only watch but I can't bear to stand aside and let evil prevail in the universe. That doesn't mean I can do everything for humanity…or any other species for that matter. I don't know how different it is here from my reality but I'm pretty sure there are worlds out there who are more screwed up than Earth is. True, you haven't always managed the planet to the best of your ability but the best teacher is experience. You make mistakes, you learn and you grow. That doesn't happen if some benevolent alien from on high is telling you what to do and how to do it. If that were so, you'd be no better off than a slave race."

Catherine interrupted him and told everyone to follow her to the meeting room so they could continue their meeting in private and in more comfortable surroundings. They took the lift up to the eighteenth floor and Catherine led them to a large meeting room. There was an enormous oval, wooden table in the center with cushiony leather chairs around it. On the wall were a few framed paintings of landscapes and at the back was a large flat screen TV mounted into the wall. Catherine told the Doctor to sit at the head of the table nearest the door. Rose and Pete sat down on either side of him and the others took seats around the table while Catherine walked over to the TV. She turned it on and picked up a remote control that was sitting by the seat at the other end of the table.

Pete tells us that you can speak and understand other languages?" Catherine said to the Doctor.

"I can speak and understand all languages," the Doctor replied.

"Good. Because some of these news reports are from other countries. I just want you to get a scope of how far reaching this Doctor adoration is," she said.

She turned on the TV and cued up some footage. The Doctor folded his hands over his chest and leaned back in his chair while he watched it. The first report was from London where a newsreader was discussing the success of the book and speculating on the Doctor, his origins and his true purpose for helping Earth. After that came reports in French, Japanese, Spanish, Hindi, Russian and Chinese, all of them speculating about the book and about him. There was also footage of people building shrines and statues to him and worshipping him, which made the Doctor shift uneasily in his seat.

"As you can see, Robert isn't the only one enthralled by you," Catherine said, turning off the TV when the news reports ended. "You are intriguing to many people, especially since you look human. Because of that, there is also speculation that you are…the progenitor of humans and we came from your world."

"No, sorry, you didn't," the Doctor said, shaking his head. "We may be similar in appearance but I'm not descended from apes like you are. However, there is speculation that you lot were molded from primitive man by other aliens into homo sapiens sapiens but we weren't the ones that did it. And please don't tell anyone I just said that. I'm sure it would only add fuel to the fire. I'm not an expert on the human race. I learn from them just as they learn from me and I'm still learning new things about your kind, it's one of the reasons why I like humans. You lot are fascinating. And I do help…when I can. I do help protect my Earth from things that could wipe you out or enslave you but as for running day to day things on Earth, I have no interest in that. I didn't even want to run things on Gallifrey when they offered me the position. I'm a traveler, that's my passion in life, to explore the universe and occasionally find people who will come with me and see the wonders of the universe. I have no desire for a desk job, thanks."

"I understand, Doctor," Catherine said. "We've heard about some of your travels from Rose. She mentioned you from time to time and after she requested that we help construct the dimension cannon, we naturally had questions about its purpose and she told us a bit more about you and how you could help keep the stars from going out. She did say you were hard to pin down because you were always on the go."

"But I never told them anything about Gallifrey apart from you lived there once," Rose said to the Doctor. "What was said in the book is way beyond my knowledge."

"Which is why I'm willing to work with Torchwood. I know it couldn't be any of you that wrote the book. Even if you probed Rose's mind, you wouldn't have found information about my childhood and life on Gallifrey. I don't go into detail about that with outsiders."

"But who would know about it?" Sebastian said.

"Only a handful of people and as far as I know, they're all dead," the Doctor said. "They certainly wouldn't be in this universe. When Gallifrey burned, I became the last living vessel of my planet's history. Now there was one other…but he's dead now. I burned his body myself. He was the only one apart from my family that knew me when I was growing up and even if he is alive, I doubt he's in this universe."

"What if there's another Gallifrey though?" Catherine said. "What if you have a double here in this universe? Rose did search but the search of obviously limited, given our technology so who knows if there's another Gallifrey somewhere in the universe and another version of you."

"That's possible, I suppose," the Doctor said, rocking back and forth in his chair. "I would believe that before I believed that someone from my reality crossed over. If there is another me, he's not only eager to tell his story but he seems to be a bit narcissistic and egotistical, especially if he's setting himself up to be a god here. Whoever it is, he can't have known I was coming back here. Then again…"

He trailed off, deep in thought for a moment as he rocked back and forth in his chair. Thirty seconds later, he stopped rocking when a thought occurred to him.

"You lot were expecting Rose and Jackie and Mickey to return, yeah?" he said.

"Yes, we were," Catherine said. "And we were able to communicate with Rose when the walls of the universe were weakening. We helped moved her with the cannon."

"That's how I found you and Donna," Rose said to the Doctor. "I had them lock on to the TARDIS's location and they sent me there."

"So even if someone isn't the author of the book, he or she could have an accomplice among you," the Doctor said to them. "And I think I have an idea who that accomplice could be."


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen

John listened to Tak'na in a stunned silence while Tak'na explained his plan. Tak'na wanted him to go down to Earth and keep on stirring up the populace until Doctor mania reached worldwide proportions. He was supposed to act as though he were there to save the Earth and guide it to a better, brighter future and if he didn't do this; his friends would suffer and die.

"So I don't have any choice, I have to do this," John said when he finished speaking.

"Correct, Doctor."

"Why? Why are you setting me up to be some sort of god? What's in it for you?" John said.

He hoped against hope that Tak'na would answer his question but predictably, he only chuckled softly.

"Your questions will be answered in time, Doctor. For now, you will do as I say and nothing more."

Oh Goody, John thought to himself.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Robert was sitting at his desk, entering some data into his computer when he was startled by his door banging against the wall. He spun around in his chair and gasped when the Doctor entered with his companion and Robert's colleagues. The Doctor said nothing until he got to his chair and then he leaned over and got in his face.

"Are you working with the person who wrote the book?" he growled at him.

"N…no," Robert said, cringing away from the Doctor's intense stare. "I don't know who wrote the book, he keeps his face covered."

"Someone knows private information about me," the Doctor growled. "The people closest to me are Rose, her family, Mickey and Jake and everyone except Jackie works at Torchwood. I'm pretty sure none of them are working with this mystery person and you seem to be my biggest fan here. You seem very interested in me."

"I read the book," Robert said quickly. "Everything I know comes from the book and from listening to Rose. Nothing else, I swear. I'm not working with anyone. Please don't hurt me!"

The Doctor snorted at that and leaned back up.

"Sorry, I don't feel like punching boffins today," he said.

Robert sat frozen in his chair and watched them leave with the Doctor. Then he suddenly leapt from his chair and ran after them.

"Wait, please!" he said to the Doctor as he sprinted out of his office. "Wait. I want to help."

The Doctor turned to face him, a dubious look on his face.

"Look, I'm sorry someone is doing this to you," Robert said. "I want to help, honestly."

The Doctor considered that for a moment before nodding.

"Fine. I just need someone to help us locate my TARDIS," he said. "Do you lot have any way to detect transmat beams and pinpoint their locations?"

He raised his eyebrow when the Torchwood employees glanced at one another and he could tell that no one knew what he was talking about.

"Fine," he said, raising his hand when they turned to him with blank looks on their faces. "Look. Just let me see what you have. I know what I'm looking for."

He signed when everyone glanced at one another with hesitant looks on their faces.

"I'm not the enemy. I'm not gonna nick your precious collection of alien artifacts, I just want my TARDIS back," he said.

"I'll go with him," Rose said. "I'll keep an eye on him and you have my word that he won't steal anything or try to take over the building."

Catherine nodded.

"Very well but he needs an ID badge if he's going into restricted areas so he needs to wait until we make him one," she said.

"I have my own ID badge," the Doctor said, holding up his psychic paper.

"No, that won't work. Everyone has been trained to see through psychic paper," Catherine said.

"Trust me, that's how I was captured in the other universe," Rose said to him.

"Fine, just…make it happen then," the Doctor said impatiently.

Everyone walked off except Rose and Robert. The Doctor stared at Robert inquiringly. Robert shrugged.

"I said I wanted to help," he said.

The Doctor kept his face passive while he tried to determine Robert's true motives. He still didn't entirely trust him but he decided to keep that to himself and see how things played out so he nodded in response.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The Doctor studied his ID card once Catherine handed it to him. They had taken his picture with a digital camera and the tiny photo was at the bottom of the card with THE DOCTOR in bold letters above it. The Doctor thought it was a tad unnecessary since he was sure everyone knew who he was now but if it meant access to Torchwood and their archives, he was willing to play along. He clipped the ID badge to his lapel before looking at Catherine.

"Can we go now?" he said.

"Yes, you may go and good luck to you," she said.

The Doctor thanked her, nodded to Rose and he and Robert followed her as she led the way.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen

The Doctor was impressed. Rose knew her way around the place. There were many closed doors and the Doctor had to fight his urge to open them and peek inside. He figured that he was being watched closely so he kept his hands to himself and followed his lover while she led him and Robert somewhere.

After ten minutes of walking, Rose suddenly stopped by one of the doors and turned to the Doctor.

"Do you want to see the Dimension Cannon?" she asked him.

"Aren't we going to go to the archives?" the Doctor asked.

"Yeah…but I figured you'd be curious about the Dimension Cannon as well," Rose said with a shrug.

"You know me far too well, Tyler," the Doctor said.

"I like to think so," Rose said sweetly as the Doctor grinned.

Every door had a scanner beside it. Rose swiped her card through the scanner and they heard an audible click as the door unlocked. She opened it and stepped aside so the Doctor and Robert could enter. Inside the room was a huge metal platform with another platform installed into the ceiling above it. The whole thing reminded the Doctor of the transporter from Star Trek as he stepped onto it. Off to the side was a large metal console with buttons and switches and there were wires and cables running between both. Rose stepped up onto the console and watched while the Doctor pulled out his screwdriver and did a scan of the platform.

"This technology is very advanced, how did you build it?" the Doctor asked her as they stepped off the platform and walked over to the console.

"I'll answer that," Robert said, walking over to them. "We salvaged parts from a downed Vorad space cruiser."

"And who downed it?" the Doctor said, turning to him.

"Dunno but it wasn't us if that's what you're thinking," he said.

"That's exactly what I'm thinking. I had dealings with the Torchwood in my universe and they were a bit on the shady side."

"It's different here," Rose said. "This Torchwood is being monitored by the government and they make sure they don't do anything that would endanger Earth."

"Good. Because you don't want me shutting you lot down," the Doctor said.

He fell silent while he examined the console. Rose pointed out a few buttons to him and explained their function. The Doctor looked from the console to the platform and shook his head.

"You took a huge risk, Rose. This technology is highly advanced. You could have killed yourself or ended up trapped in the Void forever."

"I know but I had to find you. The stars were going out and you were our only hope," Rose said.

The Doctor raised his eyebrow and Rose smiled, knowing what that implied.

"And yes, I just wanted to find you as well," she said.

The Doctor laid a hand on her shoulder and squeezed it. He spent a few more moments examining the cannon before he let Rose know he was ready. Rose led them outside and closed the door behind them. She went to a lift and once they were inside, she took them down to basement level.

When the lift doors opened, they stepped out into a huge underground room that was so long and so wide the Doctor couldn't see the sides or the back of it.

"How big is this place?" he said to Rose as the doors slid shut behind them.

"No idea," Rose said.

"No idea?" the Doctor said in disbelief.

"Well, they keep building on to it all the time and there are several levels below this one. This is only level one of their storage."

She grabbed his arm when the Doctor staggered back. The Doctor regained his composure and turned to Robert.

"How long has Torchwood been building their little collection?" he asked them.

"Longer than I've been here. Torchwood's been around since the late 1800's so I suppose since they started."

"And all of this was lying on the ground?" he said, swinging his arm around to indicate the vast room and its contents.

"They did take some things without permission but since Pete Tyler came here, that no longer happens," Robert said. "We've met with several aliens and they've gave us some tech as a gesture of peace. I swear that."

The Doctor wasn't too sure but he decided it wasn't worth arguing over so he turned back to Rose.

"So how do you find everything then?" he asked her.

Rose beckoned to him and he followed her to a group of computers on a large wooden table.

"They have everything catalogued, just search for what you want," she said, pointing to a search engine on the computer nearest them.

The Doctor sat down and thought for a moment while Rose and Robert watched. Then he typed TRANSMAT SIGNATURE INDICATOR and hit enter. He folded his hands in his lap while he waited for the results. Thirty seconds later, three entries came up. The Doctor clicked on each one and studied the summary of what the thing was and what it could do, trying to decide what would be best to use. He settled on the second entry and pointed to it.

"So how do you find it?"

Rose scrolled down and the Doctor read what was there…

LEVEL TWO, SECTION 8, NUMBER 356.

"We need to go down one level," Rose explained. "Then each storage area is divided into square sections and each item has a catalog number. That's how we find it."

The Doctor nodded. He stood up and followed Rose and Robert back to the lift. They went down one level and when they stepped out, the Doctor was stunned to see a large spaceship in front of them. The entry ramp was down and people were walking in and out of it while carrying clipboards.

"This is a Rayton Glider," he said to Rose while he pointed to it. "It's fully intact. Where did you find it?"

"Dunno. It was here when I got here," Rose said, shrugging.

The Doctor glanced back at Robert.

"No idea," he said, shrugging.

Rose noticed the Doctor's jaw tighten and she knew he was thinking that it had been stolen or shot down. She knew he hated being here and if he didn't need to find his TARDIS he would be miles from this place. She took his hand and squeezed it reassuringly. The Doctor didn't look at her but squeezed back as Rose led them to a row of golf carts parked near the ship. She got in the driver's side, the Doctor got in beside her and Robert got in the back. She started it and drove off while the Doctor looked around. Once they got past the spaceship, the Doctor saw smaller ships along with weapons, computers and other assorted alien tech. His mind boggled at the amount of stuff Torchwood possessed and he wondered if one day someone would use the stuff to try to conquer the Earth. Knowing this stuff was in human hands made him ill at ease and not even the fact that his friends worked here soothed his fears about Torchwood going rogue.

Rose drove for five minutes until they saw a sign hanging down from the ceiling that said SECTION 8; she slowed down and stopped the cart. She told the Doctor and Robert to wait while she got out and walked over to a young dark haired woman who was writing something down on a piece of paper mounted on a clipboard. They spoke for a moment and the woman pointed off to the right. Rose nodded and walked back to the golf cart.

"Okay, Louise told me where 356 is located," she said to them as she started up the golf cart.

The Doctor nodded and folded his arms over his chest while Rose drove off in search of the artifact.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter Fifteen

(Meanwhile in the other universe…)

The Doctor cursed as he barreled into his TARDIS with Clara in his arms. Clara had suggested a nice little picnic to cheer him up and get his mind off Gallifrey and then next thing they know, Clara was kidnapped by mole people who wanted to enslave her and use her to dig tunnels. He managed to fight his way through a dozen brainwashed slaves before finding his nemesis, a seven foot mole, part of an intelligent race of moles who had harnessed technology. They had strapped Clara to a table and forced her eyes open so they could use a laser to partly blind her and make her eyes sensitive to sunlight. The machine had started before the Doctor could defeat the mole, render him unconscious and save her and Clara's agonized screams tore at his heart. She'd mercifully passed out after he stopped the machine but the Doctor still had to unstrap her and make his way back to the surface before the mole woke up and alerted the slaves to his presence. He wanted to go back and free the slaves but first he had to make sure his friend was alright.

"If you've permanently blinded Clara, you bloody mole, I'll gouge your eyes out and sell you to a freak show," the Doctor muttered under his breath as he raced into the med bay with Clara in his arms.

He laid her down on the examination table and gently pried her left lid open with his fingers. He gazed down at her but he couldn't see any obvious damage to her eye. He let go of the lid and quickly worked to force her eyes open and let the TARDIS scan and repair any damage to them. He breathed a sigh of relief when the laser scanner was finally on and scanning her eyes, repairing the damage that the mole had done to her. Before he left, he injected a sedative into her arm so she wouldn't wake up before the TARDIS was finished healing her. Once that was done; he walked to the kitchen to make himself a cup of tea and catch his breath.

He fully intended to go back and take care of Mister Mole but he needed his rest and he needed to be sure Clara was safe. So it came as a shock to him when his TARDIS suddenly powered up and began to leave.

"WAIT, WAIT! I'M NOT FINISHED YET!" the Doctor said as he turned around and ran towards the console room. "I NEED TO RESCUE THE OTHER SLAVES. YOU CAN'T LEAVE YET! TURN AROUND AND GO BACK THIS INSTANT! I'M COMMANDING YOU TO TURN AROUND!"

But even as he said it, he knew it was useless. His ship was wonderful but she was also stubborn and had a mind of her own and if she decided to leave, 99 percent of the time there was no stopping her. He bolted into the console room, trying to see where she was headed. That's when the TARDIS suddenly shook so violently that the Doctor was thrown off his feet and landed on his stomach on the floor. He tried to get to his feet but the ship was vibrating so violently that he felt like his teeth were going to be shaken out of his head.

"W…WHERE…ARE YOU GO…GOING?" he managed to get out as his body vibrated with the rest of the room.

Then suddenly, the ship stopped vibrating and calm was restored. The Doctor got to his feet and staggered over to the console. Before he could see where the TARDIS was taken them, she landed and powered down. The room dimmed and everything fell silent. The Doctor could finally hear his own breathing and could think properly.

"Okay, so where are we then?" he asked his ship.

In response, the front doors opened and the Doctor heard the soft crashing of waves on the shore. He walked over to the door and looked out. He saw an ocean, sand, rocks and a high cliff outside his door. He stepped outside and looked around, confused.

"Okay, why did we come here?" he muttered to himself as he looked around.

He got a sense that his surroundings looked very familiar and then he realized why.

"We're in Bad Wolf Bay," he turned and said to his ship. "That vibration, you went across the void. But why did you come here?"

He went back inside and repeated the question. In response, the lights dimmed even further and a 3D hologram of Gallifrey appeared in front of him. The Doctor stared at it for a moment before he got it.

"Wait? You're saying Gallifrey is here? This is Pete's World, isn't it? You're saying we sent Gallifrey to Pete's World?"

The TARDIS rumbled an affirmative.

"But…we were supposed to send it to a pocket universe outside of reality…for safe keeping," the Doctor said. "You're saying our calculations were off?"

Another affirmative grunt.

"But this is Pete's World, correct?"

Another grunt.

"Rose," the Doctor said softly as he thought of her standing there on the beach, wind blowing her hair as she told him she loved him.

He quickly brought himself back to reality and when he did, he suddenly had a sense that something was wrong, that the timeline had been tampered with. He could sense time was changing and now he understood why his ship had brought him here.

"Do you have enough power to take me to Rose, old girl?" he said. "If the timeline is being altered, I need all the help I can get."

The Doctor sensed that the TARDIS had been drained by the crossing and she wasn't going to last long but he heard her powering up and the door shut behind the Doctor as the rotor began to go up and down and the wheezing began.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

(Meanwhile at Torchwood…)

Rose and Robert watched while the Doctor examined the Transmat Signature Locator, essentially a square, black, metal box with buttons, a dial and a tiny monitor on top. He examined it from all sides before nodding.

"I think this'll do," he said to them. "If not, we can always come back and try again."

"Come back?" Robert said.

"I need to go back to Bad Wolf Bay and run the scan there," the Doctor said. "You wouldn't happen to have a teleport…"

He trailed off and Rose's eyes bulged when they heard a very familiar wheezing sound off to the right. They turned and the Doctor and Rose watched with disbelief while the TARDIS slowly materialized in front of them.

"It came back," Rose said in amazement when the TARDIS stopped and powered down.

She started to walk toward it when the Doctor caught her arm.

"No, wait, this isn't my TARDIS. This one has a St. John's Ambulance badge on the door. I haven't had that badge on my door for centuries. Rose, stay back."

"What's wrong? This is the TARDIS, yeah?" Rose said.

"Yes, but it's not MY TARDIS. We're being visited by another version of me."

He noticed the wide eyes and hopeful look of his companion and shook his head.

"And I seriously doubt it's my ninth self," he said, reading her mind, "he didn't have a badge on his door either. It's most likely my first self, though why he's here…"

He shut up when the door opened and he frowned when a young man with floppy hair peered out at him.

"Okay, I have absolutely no idea who that is," he said as the man stepped out and shut the door behind him.

The man turned and Ten stared at him for a moment, wondering if this was a companion. Then the man reached into his purple coat and brought out his screwdriver. The Doctor's eyes bulged when he realized the youngster was himself. Eleven put the screwdriver back inside his coat and walked over to him and Rose.

"Hello again," he said to them. "It's good to see you, Rose, and I'm glad you're still with my clone."

"I'm not the clone," Ten said. "I'm the original. The clone and Jackie have been kidnapped by someone and Donna and the TARDIS are missing. We're trying to find them."

"So it's true, time is changing," Eleven said grimly. "My TARDIS sensed it. I suspect that's part of the reason why she brought me here."

"What's the other part then?" Ten said.

"I've been looking for Gallifrey and I found it. It's here…in this universe."


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen

Rose ran to steady the Doctor who had stumbled back in shock from the revelation. He steadied himself and gently waved her away. Rose stepped back and watched while the Tenth Doctor moved closer to his other self.

"You're sure of this?" Ten said to Eleven.

"I asked the TARDIS and she said yes," Eleven said.

The Doctor considered that while Eleven watched him. He caught Rose's eye and winked at her. Rose blushed and smiled as she looked away.

"That confirms our suspicions then," Ten said to Rose.

What suspicions?" Eleven said.

The Doctor looked around at Robert.

"Is there someplace where we can sit and discuss this?" he said to him.

Robert nodded and motioned for everyone to follow him. Eleven shut the TARDIS door and followed them. Robert led them back to the lift and they went back down to ground level where he showed them where the cafeteria was. He went to get everyone some tea while the others sat down at a long white table. For the next hour, the Doctor and Rose explained what had occurred in the past few days while they sipped their tea. When they finished bringing him up to speed, Eleven sat for a moment taking it all in before he briefly explained what happened to him. Another half hour passed before he was done and both Ten and Rose were intrigued by his story of meeting his future self and the War Doctor. When he was finished it Ten's turn to take in what he said.

"So where is this Clara then?" he said, looking around.

Eleven explained about Clara being injured and recovering in the med bay. He checked his watch.

"Which reminds me, I should check on her so if you want to come with me…"

Ten nodded. Everyone rose, threw away their Styrofoam cups of tea and went back up to the TARDIS. When they stepped inside it, Ten stopped quickly and jerked his head around, staring at the metallic interior.

"Oh no, this is hideous," Ten said, making a face.

Eleven rolled his eyes.

"Yes, I know you hate it. Your future self already made that perfectly clear," he said while Rose chuckled.

"I like it," Rose said, "Looks like a proper spaceship now."

She patted Ten's shoulder when he shot her a dirty look and kissed his cheek. Eleven beckoned to everyone and he led them back to the med bay. When they entered, the Doctor walked over to Clara, who was still unconscious, and began examining the scanners. Eleven and Rose walked up beside him but Robert held back, still in awe of his surroundings.

"Seems to be stable," Ten said to Eleven while Rose watched Clara. "No permanent injury to her eyes."

"Good thing too," Eleven said. "I would have ripped that mole's head off if there had been."

Ten nodded. He turned his attention toward the others.

"So…what are your thoughts about our course of action now?" he said to him.

"Well…if someone seems to know all about you, my thought is our mysterious friend is from Gallifrey. Perhaps he has access to the Matrix?"

"What is the Matrix?" Rose said while Robert walked over to her side.

"It stores all the memories and knowledge of Time Lords, living and dead," Ten said. "Only certain individuals have access to it but our friend could be one of those someones."

"But why would he do this?" Rose said. "What would be the purpose of making the Doctor into a cult leader?"

"Maybe this was one way of trying to attract attention in the hopes that you were somewhere in the vicinity," Eleven said. "We told them they were going to be frozen in time and put in a parallel pocket universe. Obviously, the freezing in time didn't work so maybe they're assuming the sending them to another universe didn't work either. They know we love Earth so perhaps this was their way of making a big enough kerfuffle that you would take notice. Except…it must have been meant for me since you're a younger version of the one that was with me. Although…why would they use you instead of me when they were promoting us as a god figure?"

"Maybe they learned about John. John is his clone and maybe they thought he was the current Doctor," Rose offered.

Eleven nodded.

"If they can still move, they might have sent scouts to Earth to try to find me or at least some mention of me," Ten said. "Torchwood has records of my time here, yeah?" he said to Rose.

Rose and Robert nodded.

"You've never been here before," Ten said to Eleven. "Only me. So if someone was looking for proof I was here, they probably broke into Torchwood's archives and found my file. If this theory is correct."

"So how do we prove this theory then?" Robert asked.

Eleven and Ten glanced at one another. They stared at each other intensely and Rose got the sense that they were communicating telepathically. She envied that ability. Her suspicions were confirmed when both men nodded.

"We have a plan," Eleven said to everyone. "But first…"

He shut up when everyone heard a low groan. They turned around and noticed Clara was starting to wake up. Eleven took her hand, urging her to wake up while everyone watched. She finally came to enough to see what was going on around her and she stared for a moment at Ten.

"I thought you left," she said to him.

"That's not him, that's a past version of my past self," Eleven said. "And this is Rose Tyler and this is Robert."

"And I'm Clara and I'm totally confused," Clara said.

Eleven helped her sit up and steadied her while Clara got her bearings. He and Ten helped her to stand and everyone watched while the two men walked with her until she was steady enough to walk on her own. When she was strong enough, Eleven led everyone to the TARDIS kitchen so they could reveal their plan to the others.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen

Clara walked with the others to the Console Room. By now, she was feeling better and her strength had returned. But she was still a bit confused about what had happened while she was unconscious and the fact that the Tenth Doctor was back with an unknown companion was a bit much to take in at the moment. The unfamiliar male seemed to be an associate but Rose was definitely with the Tenth Doctor. She seemed nice but Clara wondered why she wasn't around when they were with the future version of the Doctor. Her Doctor filled her in on the basics and told her about the clone but didn't go into too much detail about him, telling her that time was in flux at the moment. She was still fighting off the effects of the anesthetic and she decided to not think too much until she was more lucid. Despite that, she was ready to assist the others in the search for Jackie, John and the Tenth Doctor's TARDIS.

For the moment, she was sitting near the console while her Doctor did a search for Gallifrey.

"I figure if we want to know what's going on, we should go to the source," Eleven said to everyone as he worked.

He eyed Ten suspiciously when he stepped up to the console to assist him. Ten caught his eye and rolled his before Eleven begrudgingly let him assist. Clara smiled at that, remembering the back and forth banter between the two of them and how befuddled the War Doctor had been at his hyper older selves. Nothing much had seemed to change, except the Tenth Doctor did have more of an air of sadness around him than the other time. She glanced at Rose who was standing beside her. She cleared her throat.

"Hello, did you travel with the Doctor as well?" she asked, wanting to be friends with someone who had the same experiences as her.

"Yeah, I'm Rose Tyler," Rose said, extending her hand and smiling warmly.

"Clara Oswald, nice to meet ya," she said, shaking her hand.

"Same," Rose said. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, still a bit groggy but I'll pull through. And you?" she said to Robert when he walked up to them, "are you travelin' as well?"

"I wish," Robert said. "But no, I work at Torchwood. I'm just a very big fan of the Doctor. Nice to meet you," he said, shaking her hand. "So you do this full time then?" he added.

"Yeah, you get used to it, trust me," Clara said while Rose nodded in agreement.

"AHA! SUCCESS! WE LOCKED ON TO GALLIFREY!" Eleven suddenly crowed.

Clara and Rose looked at one another with excitement.

"I've never been to Gallifrey," Rose said. "The Doctor talked about it but I didn't think it existed anymore."

Clara nodded but remained silent about being on Gallifrey before. She decided it would involve too much explanation. She told Rose she'd never been before to save time. Despite this, she was excited about meeting the other Time Lords and perhaps getting to the bottom of what was going on.

The TARDIS landed and powered down. There was a hush in the room while the two Doctors stared at one another, both of them filled with anticipation but neither of them wanting to make the first move. Then they heard a knock at the front door followed by a male yelling, "Oi! Get this thing out of here!" Eleven turned and ran to the front door. He opened it up and they heard the male telling him to move his thing out of his barn.

"I don't know how you got this thing in here but get it out!" the man was saying while the others walked to the front door.

"So sorry," Eleven said as he stepped outside. "This is my TARDIS."

The others stepped outside the door. They were standing inside a dusty, dimly lit barn. There was straw under their feet and on either side of them were stables filled with nervous, fidgety horses. Rose came up beside the Tenth Doctor.

"There are horses on Gallifrey?" she asked him.

"Yes. The human form isn't the only thing that spans several planets," he said to her.

He smiled and took her hand.

"Welcome to my home, Rose Tyler," he said.

Rose looked up at him and smiled, thrilled to be standing on his homeworld at last. They watched while the farmer inspected the TARDIS. He was in his early thirties, a bit haggard looking with slightly graying hair. He was wearing a white shirt and something that looked like a black kilt with a leather belt holding it in place. He wore long black boots that were slightly muddy. He rubbed his hand over his stubble of beard while he looked at the TARDIS.

"What in Rassilon is this supposed to be?" he said to Eleven.

"It's a police box," Eleven said.

"What is that?" the man said.

"Never mind, you want this moved, we'll move it," Eleven said impatiently.

While they were talking, Ten glanced over and noticed Robert had left the group and was slowly walking towards the barn doors while he looked around him in amazement. Rose glanced at him when he hurried towards him and decided to follow him. Robert reached the front doors and slowly pushed it open. By now, everyone had stopped to watch what he was doing while Ten and Rose caught up to him.

"This is Gallifrey?" Robert said as he stepped outside, "looks like a barn to me."

"Yes. We have barns and horses on Gallifrey, Robert," Ten said as he and Rose stepped outside with him.

When Rose emerged from the barn, she froze and her breath caught in her throat. They were standing in a sea of red grass that stretched from the slightly decaying wooden barn towards a white farmhouse about fifty feet away. In the sky were several planets of varying colors, including a big pale blue one with Saturnlike rings around it. Near the house were three trees with shining silver leaves on it.

"Oh my God, it's beautiful," Rose said breathlessly while the others came outside.

Now Rose couldn't help herself and she began to walk around, taking in the scenery while the Farmer impatiently told Eleven they couldn't stay here.

"I don't know you and you're on my property, you need to leave," he said to Eleven.

"Will you give us a few minutes, we're not destroying anything," Eleven said angrily.

"Well, what are they doing?" the Farmer said, pointing to Robert and Rose as they wandered around and took everything in.

"They're humans and this is their first time here," Eleven said.

Now it was the Farmer's turn to be amazed. Rose was staring at the trees with silent awe when she suddenly felt someone at her back. She turned; expecting to see the Doctor but instead was shocked to see the Farmer gawking at her. She looked at herself, wondered what was wrong while Eleven walked over to her with a huge grin on his face.

"This is a human?" the Farmer said while Eleven walked up beside him.

"Yes, a very nice human actually," Eleven said.

Rose jerked back when the Farmer tried to poke her right breast.

"Oi, watch it!" Rose said, covering her breast with her hand.

"Do you really have one heart?" the Farmer said, ignoring her reaction while he drew nearer to her. "And no respiratory bypass system."

"Doctor!" Rose said desperately as she ran around Eleven and hid behind him.

Eleven smiled at the Farmer's disappointment.

"Yes, it's true on both counts," he said to the Farmer. "They are also skittish creatures who don't like to be touched so you'll excuse her reticence at being groped. And now, I believe we will be going. Come along, Human."

"Gladly," Rose said as Eleven turned and took her hand.

Eleven noticed a slightly jealous look on Ten's face at their handholding but he didn't care, happy to be holding Rose's hand again after so many years. He looked back and noticed the Farmer was following them to the barn.

"We're leaving, alright" Eleven said as Rose looked over her shoulder with him.

"Just observing how a human walks," the Farmer said as he eyed Rose's ass.

Eleven and Rose shared a look and suddenly sprinted hand in hand towards the barn. Ten shooed the others inside and Rose and Eleven ran inside after them while the Farmer asked them to wait so he could see a human naked.


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter Eighteen

Eleven opened the TARDIS door and peeked out while the others waited. After ditching the nosy farmer, he managed to move the TARDIS somewhere else on the planet. The TARDIS jiggled and shook and everyone held on to the railings while Eleven gripped the console. But the trip only took thirty seconds before she stopped. Now Eleven was making sure they were still on the correct planet. The other stood and waited while he looked around, then they heard him groan softly. When they went outside, Rose and Robert stopped short when they saw the devastation around them. There was a huge castlelike structure dominating the surroundings with a glass dome around it. But the dome was in ruins, broken like a goldfish bowl and there was heavy bomb damage to both the structure and the surrounding area.

"What happened?" Rose said as she came up beside Ten.

"The Daleks happened," Ten said grimly.

"Yeah, but…we didn't see this sort of devastation at that farm," Robert said, pointing to the building.

"It wasn't a high-profile target," Eleven said. "I suspect the farm was on the other side of the planet, away from the cities and the Citadel here," he added, gesturing to the damaged structure. "The Daleks bombed the entire planet but they concentrated their firepower on areas like this where people fought back. That farmer was lucky. If the farms survived, the people have food. But for now…follow me, we need to meet with the general and high council and find out what's going on here."

Everyone followed him as he led the way towards the Citadel. On the way there, they avoided craters where bombs had dropped and stepped around parts of destroyed spaceships and Daleks. Rose noticed several charred corpses of soldiers as they got closer to the building and took her Doctor's hand.

"You fought like they did?" she said, pointing to the corpses.

Ten looked where she was pointing and sighed.

"With great reluctance," he said sadly as he looked away.

They nearly made it to the enormous double doors of the Citadel when the door suddenly opened and several soldiers streamed out, their laser blasters trained on them. Eleven's arms shot up in the air.

"Wait, whoa! I'm the Doctor!" he said while everyone else put their arms in the air. "The Doctor! I wish to see the General and the high council!"

"How do we know that?" a young soldier said as he neared closer to Eleven. "You look different."

"That's because I regenerated. Do a mind scan on me if you like, just let us inside," Eleven said, annoyed.

"Do it," another guard said. "If they're lying, we'll have them executed."

"That's big of you, thanks," Eleven said dryly before the guards parted to let them through.

They waited until they walked past and then fell in behind them, their laser blasters still aimed at their backs. Inside the building was heavily damaged with dim lights and paintings of prominent Time Lords on the walls of the corridors along with a huge Seal of Rassilon. Rose was looking around at the portraits as they passed by but she noticed Clara wasn't awestruck like she and Robert was. In fact, she seemed to be nonchalant about the whole Gallifrey thing. She wondered why she could be so unimpressed since she was sure this was the first time in centuries that the Doctor had stepped foot on his own planet. She decided privately to ask her about it later as they headed for the War Room.

When they reached the massive double doors of the War Room, the guards told everyone to stop and the young one who had accosted the Doctor stepped around them and told everyone to wait while he announced their arrival. He closed the door and Eleven stared at the engraved Seal of Rassilon on each door while he waited for the guard to return. While he was doing that, he saw movement out of the corner of his eye and looked over when Clara stepped up to him.

"Do you think the Time Lords are responsible for the whole cult thing on Earth then?" she said in hushed voice.

"Dunno, but I'm not leaving until I get some answers," he said softly.

The door opened and Eleven and Clara stepped back slightly as the guard poked his head out and told them they could come in. He opened the door up and Eleven led them inside. Around a large table stood the General and several male and female council members, all of them dressed in Time Lord robes and regalia. Everyone stopped near the table as the guard walked to the General.

"He said he's the Doctor," the guard said as he pointed to Eleven.

"He is, I recognize him and the other one," he said, pointing to Ten. "You men may leave us. We need to talk to them in private," he said to the soldiers.

The soldiers saluted and left the room, closing the door behind them. Eleven glanced over his shoulder at him before he turned his attention to the General. The General was out of his armor and was dressed in Time Lord robes like his colleagues.

"I gather your calculations were off, Doctor, since we're not frozen in time," the General said to Eleven as Ten walked up to the front.

"It was a complicated maneuver," Eleven said mildly. "I suspect one of us was off in their calculations. Most likely my sixth self, he was a bit dodgy anyway. We did manage to send you to another universe, however."

"Yes, we surmised that from the planets in the sky and the lack of Daleks," the General said dryly. "So now that we're here, how do we return, Doctor?"

"I don't know," Eleven said.

"So, we're stuck here forever?" a councilwoman said as she walked up beside the General.

"This is Counselor Trina, one of my aides," the General said, gesturing to the middle aged woman dressed in scarlet robes.

Eleven and Ten bowed respectfully to her.

"I don't know, Counselor Trina," Eleven said. "As I said, this is the first time this has ever been attempted, I have no idea if we can bring you back to the original universe or not."

"I have a question of my own, if you don't mind," Ten interrupted.

"Yes, Doctor?" the General said.

"Are you behind this whole mass worshipping of me on Earth?" Ten said.

The General and Trina glanced at one another.

"Mass worshipping" the General said, confused.

"Someone has started a cult dedicated to me on Earth," Eleven said. "Someone with expansive knowledge of me and Gallifrey."

"We know of no such cult on Earth," the General said, shaking his head. "We didn't even know if there was an Earth in this universe."

"Then who is behind it?" Eleven said.

"I have no idea, Doctor. We're concerned with rebuilding and finding a way back to our universe, we don't have time to establish a Doctor cult on Earth," the General said.

"Permission to conduct an investigation then so we can find out if someone from Gallifrey is behind this cult?" the Doctor said.

The General glanced at his aides.

"Granted. But your energy would be better expended helping us rebuild and get back home," the General said.

"I understand that but I have reason to believe that this person or persons who are behind this cult have evil intentions, not just for me but perhaps for all of us and we need to investigate and find out what's going on."

"Very well then, I will send a soldier with you."

"That's…not necessary," Eleven said quickly. "We can take care of ourselves."

"I wish one to go with you, both for protection and to report back to us. If we truly are in danger, I want to know about it. I assure you, Doctor, the soldier will defer to you and be respectful."

Eleven sighed and nodded, sensing this point was not negotiable. He gave his consent and the General told them to wait outside the Citadel and he would send the soldier out after choosing one. Eleven glanced at Ten and both men bowed deeply before they turned and walked out of the room with their friends.


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter Nineteen

Everyone waited by the TARDIS for the soldier to emerge from the Citadel. After twenty minutes, Eleven shifted his foot and sighed as he checked his wristwatch.

"I'm not waiting all day for this…bloke to get out here," he said to the others. "We have things to do and I'm not thrilled that a soldier is following us now."

"There he is," Clara said, pointing.

They turned to look and noticed a lone man was coming out of the Citadel. The Doctor got a good look at him and was shocked when he realized the man looked like he was barely out of his teens. He was tall and lean with a slight muscular build and an angular face. He had tousled brown hair and a smooth baby face. From the looks of him, the Doctor doubted he'd ever seen combat. But to his relief, the man was dressed in a simple black uniform instead of battle armor. The Doctor felt someone come up beside him and looked over to see Ten gazing at him.

"Seems a bit young to me," Ten said to him.

"Yes, but maybe he'll prove useful," Eleven replied as the man walked up to them.

The man stopped a few feet from them and bowed.

"Greetings, I am Darius," he said to them. "The General wished me to come with you while you're on Gallifrey."

"I am the Doctor and this…" Eleven said, looking at Ten, "is also the Doctor. And this is Rose, Clara and Robert."

Darius bowed again.

"It is a privilege to work with the Doctor. Your exploits are legendary," he said to Ten and Eleven.

Ten and Eleven glanced at one another and rolled their eyes.

"Okay, before we start working together, that's enough of the fawning," Eleven said to Darius. "I've heard it all before about how legendary I am and it gets boring and tiresome. If you're going to be a part of this group, you have to get the stars out of your eyes. Agreed?"

"Yes, sir. Sorry, sir," Darius said.

"And no "Sir", just the Doctor will do," Ten added.

Darius nodded. The two Doctors glanced at one another before turning and walking back towards the TARDIS. Darius followed with the other companions but was frowning when Eleven opened the door of his TARDIS.

"Are we…going somewhere" Darius said hesitantly as he looked back at the Citadel. "The General told me to keep an eye on you while you were here."

"Then we have no further need of you," Eleven said. "However, I'm not leaving yet. Just running a few scans. You're more than welcome to come inside or you can go back to the Citadel, whatever suits you best."

"I want to stay with you," Darius said.

"Then quit worrying about whether or not we're leaving," Ten said. "They know us. They know we travel and we'll vouch for you if you get in trouble for leaving. Now come on inside and help us."

Darius nodded. He entered the TARDIS with the others and his mouth dropped open at the sight of it.

"The TARDIS," he said in an awed whisper. "I'm actually inside the TARDIS."

"Ugh," Ten said to Eleven while Rose and Clara giggled. "Rose, I'm glad you weren't this overawed when you started traveling with me. Otherwise, I would have chucked you out the door."

"I wasn't interested in the TARDIS, I was interested in the person flying it," Rose said.

Ten and Eleven looked at each other while Rose and Clara giggled.

"Should I puff out my chest at that and act all arrogant?" Eleven said to Ten.

"Nah, act modest. It looks better," Ten replied.

Rose and Clara snickered when Eleven lowered his head and looked humble for a second before grinning and dashing around the console to his monitor. While he was doing that, Ten continued his teasing as he turned to Rose and Clara and leaned back against the console.

"So…you like science-y men, eh?" he said to them, not noticing the stunned look on Eleven's face when he saw his monitor.

Rose and Clara glanced at one another with a gleam in their eyes.

"I do," Clara said, "but I like tall, thin geeky men with floppy hair."

They laughed when Ten clawed at the front of his hair, trying to bring it down over his face like Eleven's hair. While he was doing that, he could hear something on Eleven's monitor and he was vaguely aware of his own voice coming from it while he smiled at Rose and Clara and kept his eye on Darius and Robert who were now walking around while the explored the interior of the TARDIS.

"Doctor, I think you need to see this," Eleven called out to him.

"Pardon me, I must go be science-y," Ten said to Rose and Clara before walking around the console.

The girls stepped away from the console, watching while Ten walked up to the monitor. They heard Ten's voice coming from the monitor and then saw Ten's shocked expression while Eleven gave him a pointed look.

"What?" Ten said as he stared at the monitor.

Rose and Clara shared a look before they walked around to the Doctors. They stopped near Ten and turned to look at the monitor. Rose frowned when she saw someone that looked like Ten talking to a female interviewer. They were both sitting in leather chairs in a TV studio, facing one another while they chatted.

"So, what finally made you decide to come out of the shadows, Doctor?" the woman was saying.

"Well, I just thought it was time to let the world know that the rumors about my existence were true," the Doctor was saying to her. "It's time that humanity knew they had a friend out there who was concerned about their welfare."

"What? When did you do this?" Rose said to Ten.

"I didn't do it, Rose. That's not me," he said, giving her a pointed look.

Realization dawned on Rose's face and her jaw dropped open.

"That's John?" Rose said, pointing to the monitor.

"It's John or someone that looks remarkably like him. All I know is that's not me," Ten said.

"What's he doing?" Clara said.

"Um…at a guess, I'm guessing he's pretending to be you and pretending to be a god," Eleven said as Darius and Robert came up behind him.

Rose looked at Ten and noticed his jaw was clenching as he stared at John with silent rage.

"Doctor, he wouldn't do something like this voluntarily. I know you think he's dangerous but he would never endanger you like this. Someone is forcing him to do this, I'm sure of it," Rose said, putting her hand on his arm.

"That could be true," Eleven said. "He was taken. For all we know, someone has brainwashed him and controls him."

Ten sighed and gave a begrudging nod.

"Fine. Let's find him then and get to the bottom of this and for his sake, he better be under someone's control," he growled.


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter Twenty

An angry sigh escaped from John's nose as he walked off the set. He felt rage, rage at himself and rage at his situation. He didn't want to do this, didn't want to further the myth of the Doctor as a god but what could he do. If he didn't do it, Donna and Jackie would be executed. He still had no idea of Tak'na's overall plan but he didn't have to know in order to hate it.

He stopped backstage several feet from the set and waited for the transmat to come down and collect him. He also had a tracer microchip injected into his bloodstream so if he tried to run away, he would be found and executed along with his friends. He felt trapped and manipulated and this angered him more.

"Doctor!"

John turned and saw the interviewer, Gareth O'Riley hurrying to catch up with him. He knew the transmat was coming and he held up his hands, trying to stop him while Gareth tried to ask him another question. But before he could stop him, the transmat beam came down, enveloping them both and the last thing John heard was Gareth's terrified scream before they were both broken down into atoms and transported to the ship.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

After running a scan, Eleven told the TARDIS to take them to the television studio. The TARDIS ran a quick scan and then everyone held on while she moved through space to get to their destination. Once she was through and powered down, everyone followed Eleven outside. BBC Television Center in this universe was housed in a great glass pyramid that was about thirty feet tall. The sunlight hit the windows, causing a blinding radiance to anyone who gazed on it. Besides the windows, there was double doors at the front with a huge sign that read BBC TELEVISION CENTRE above it. The door was being guarded by an elderly man in a black doorman's uniform. Eleven glanced at his counterpart and both of them whipped out their psychic paper while everyone else followed them. As they walked up to the doorman, he stepped in front of the door and held out his hand. Ten and Eleven showed him their psychic paper. The man read it and looked at everyone behind Ten and Eleven.

"Who are they then?" he said, pointing to them.

"They're our assistants. Now will you allow us to pass, time is of the essence here," Eleven said imperiously.

The doorman shrugged and stepped aside. When they were inside, Clara tugged at Eleven's sleeve.

"What did you show them?" she asked him.

"I said we were two television executives and we were here to inspect the programs," Eleven said.

"And you need all of us as assistants?" Rose said.

"We're very needy and useless without several pairs of hands to assist," Ten said with a grin while Eleven sniggered.

"This is extraordinary," Darius said as they walked through a large lobby towards the lift.

Eleven glanced at him. He was staring up at the inside of the glass pyramid in awe.

"This is amazing," he said while everyone stopped to look at him. "Apes are capable of marvels such as this?"

"What?" Clara said, incensed, while Eleven pushed past her to get to him.

"Um…you're new here, to the group and to Earth so I need to tell you that It's frowned on when you call humans "Apes," he said to Darius.

Darius looked at the humans and said a quick apology to them when he noticed their annoyed looks. Eleven patted him on the shoulder before rejoining his counterpart at the front. Near the lift was a wooden desk where a young and confused receptionist sat. Eleven showed her the psychic paper which caused her even more confusion.

"I don't recall a visit from BBC executives on the schedule today," she said, pushing her wire framed glasses further up her nose to get a good look at them.

"Surprise inspection," Ten said. "We like to come when no one's expecting us. That way, everything is authentic and not spiffed up for us."

"Who are they?" the receptionist said, pointing to the people behind them.

"They're our assistants," Eleven said. "We are quite busy and we need assistants to write memos, fetch coffee and tea and hold our things."

"We need to be hands free, obviously," Ten said.

"Well, I suppose I can let you through but this has never happened before," the receptionist said hesitantly as she studied them. "This is highly unusual."

"That's why we're here," Eleven said. "Our bosses now want surprise inspections. Keeps everyone on their toes. So may we pass?"

"I…suppose," the receptionist said.

"Thanks muchly," Ten said airly as he walked towards the lift.

Eleven waved at the receptionist before following him. The others quickly hurried after them before the receptionist asked them something. When they got to the lift, they clustered together and looked back at the receptionist. She was still watching them but wasn't doing anything to stop them.

"Tell me, Doctor, is there ever a time when this show people the psychic paper thing doesn't work?" Clara asked Eleven in a hushed voice as they waited.

"Never," Eleven said haughtily. "Psychic paper always works when I want it to."

"Didn't work for me when I was in Torchwood the first time," Rose said softly.

Eleven looked over his shoulder at her.

"That's because you nicked my psychic paper from my pocket and the psychic paper didn't like you," he said to her with mock haughtiness.

"She was always nicking things, you notice that?" Ten said to Eleven while Rose eyed them.

"Yeah, she had quite the sticky fingers. Couldn't keep her hands out of anything. She would have put them in the toaster if I hadn't hidden it."

"Oh, shut up," Rose said with a grin as the two Doctors grinned at each other.

"Toaster would have taught her though," Ten said as the lift doors opened. "Pair of burnt hands would have taught her that stealing is wrong."

"You're right," Eleven said as they went inside. "But it's too late now…although we could speak to John about the toaster idea."

"Belt up, will ya?" Rose said as the lift doors closed.

They all stood there for a moment waiting for the lift to start. Rose and Clara looked at Eleven who was closest to the buttons.

"Well?" Clara said to him.

"I forgot to ask what floor we needed. Won't take a tic, everyone," Eleven said as he pushed the door open button.

Rose looked at Clara.

"This is what he gets for banging on about me and toasters," she said to her while Eleven hurried over to the receptionist.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter Twenty One

"Okay," Eleven said, hurrying back into the lift after asking the annoyed receptionist what floor they needed. "We need to go to floor three."

"Are you sure about that?" Robert said as he hit the button and the lift doors closed.

"Always sure, I'm sure about everything," Eleven said over his shoulder.

He eyed Clara and Rose when he noticed they were grinning at one another and he looked over at Ten.

"Perhaps hitting her on the noddle with the toaster would do," he said to Ten as the lift went up.

"Yes, knock some sense into her," Ten said, nodding while Rose looked at Clara and shook her head sadly.

The lift stopped and the doors opened. They stepped onto a wide, carpeted balcony. At the edge of the balcony was a glass barrier that was topped with a brass railing. The balcony curved around and led off into two corridors that had multiple closed doors on either side. They stepped out and Eleven looked both ways before walking over to the railing and peering down at the receptionist below.

"Oi! Which way is the television studio where the bloke interviewed the Doctor?" he yelled down to her.

"Right side, third door on the left!" the woman yelled up.

"Thanks! That's all I need for now!" Eleven yelled down.

He leaned back up and turned to see Clara was behind him, snickering.

"What?" he said to her.

"You're the most unorganized bloke I've ever known," she said.

"I am too organized. I was just so involved with getting up here that I forgot to ask a few things," Eleven said defensively.

Just then, there was a scream off to the right and everyone spun around to see a twentysomething year old woman running towards Ten.

"Oh my God, it's the Doctor!" she squealed as she sped towards him.

Darius ran in front of Ten, trying to get in between him and the crazed fan as she hurried towards the stunned Time Lord. Eleven grabbed Darius by the shoulder and gave him a look of warning.

"I will not kill, I'm merely trying to protect him," Darius said tersely.

Eleven nodded and let go. Darius spun around and held out his hands to stop the girl but she stopped herself a few feet from him and squealed with joy.

"Doctor, I'm a huuuuuuge fan," she gushed while Ten shifted in discomfort. "I meant to see your interview but I arrived too late and I decided to wait for you and here you are and I'm sooooo glad to see you and…"

"Whoa," Ten said, holding up his hands while Eleven hid a smile behind his hand. "Alright, calm down, you found me. Don't faint on me, yeah"

"I won't," the girl said, calming down slightly. "But this is so brilliant. I've never met a celebrity before."

"And what is your name?" Ten said to her.

"Tasha, my name is Tasha," the girl said. "Oh my Gawd, can I have your autograph, puh-leeeeeze?"

Rose and Clara bent over in silent laughter and Eleven tried to bite back his as Ten gave Tasha an odd look.

"Um…yeah," he said, reaching into his pocket for a pad and pencil.

"I'm next," Rose said, loud enough for Ten to hear while Ten focused on autographing his name and TO TASHA on the small yellow sheet of paper. He tore it off and directed Darius to give it to her.

"THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOOOOOU!" Tasha squealed as she bounced up and down for a few seconds. "This means sooooo much to me."

"I'm sure it does," Ten said, noticing that now everyone was trying not to laugh. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go speak to…that chap that interviewed me…"

"Gareth O'Riley," Robert said.

"Yes! Thank you," Ten said to him. "Yes, must speak to Gareth before I go, I forgot to tell him something. Now if you'll excuse us?"

"Can I have a kiss before you go?" Tasha said.

"Um…well…yeah, a tiny one. Darius, let her through," Ten said, patting the young soldier on the shoulder.

Darius hesitated a moment, seeing the starstruck look in the young girl's eyes but did as Ten said. Ten was about to emphasize a small kiss when Tasha zoomed over and practically pounced on him. Eleven bent over the railing, shaking all over with silent laughter while Ten tried to stop the teen from shoving her tongue down his throat. Darius growled with frustration, grabbed Tasha and pulled her off of Ten, who reeled back in shock at the assault.

"That's enough!" Darius growled at Tasha. "Be on your way now!"

Tasha glared at Darius but turned and stomped off, looking over her shoulder longingly at Ten as she did. Eleven recovered and straightened up while Ten wiped the drool off his lips.

"Thank you," Ten said to Darius.

Darius dropped his head and put his right fist against his left shoulder in salute. Ten finished wiping off the spit and motioned for everyone to follow him while they walked towards the TV studio.


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter Twenty Two

When they found the correct door, Ten paused a moment and held back while the others watched him.

"This is it, yeah?" Rose said as Ten's hand hovered over the door handle. "Third door on the left?"

"Yes, I'm just afraid I'll find another Tasha inside when I open it," Ten said.

He finally opened the door, very slowly, and looked inside when he opened it enough for his head to poke through. He saw the studio near the back of the room with three cameras positioned in front of it and beyond that stadium seating with red leather seats. Men and women were running around and there appeared to be some confusion. Then a young black woman spotted him and the Doctor flinched when she pointed and yelled, "There he is!" and everyone stopped to see where she was pointing.

"Darius, stay right behind me," Ten said before he slowly opened the door.

By now, a middle aged man with salt and pepper hair pulled back in a long ponytail and a beer gut was heading towards him with a clipboard in his hand. His blue flannel shirt and khaki pants were rumpled and there was a pair of headphones around his neck. The cords snaked down the front of his body and jiggled and bounced as he hurried towards the Doctor. He was wearing old brown shoes that had a few holes in them and he had a look of relief on his chubby moon face as he came up to the Doctor.

"There you are, we've been looking all over for you and Gareth," the man said when he stopped in front of the Doctor. "Where did you swan off to?"

"Um…just stepped out to the loo," the Doctor said, deciding to play along. "Why, where did you think I went?"

The man frowned at the Doctor's entourage for a moment before the Doctor snapped his fingers and turned his attention back to him.

"Where did you think I went?" he repeated impatiently.

"Well, someone said that they saw a bright light that came down and spread around you and Gareth and you looked like you disappeared," he said to the Doctor. "Frankly, she's young and I thought she was on drugs but I wasn't around at the time and…"

"Where did this happen?" the Doctor said, cutting him off. "Who saw it?"

"Well…Felicity saw it. Wait a tic, I'll find her," the man said.

He turned and then hesitated.

"Won't be running off again, will you?" he asked the Doctor.

"I'm through with the loo so I'll be right here," the Doctor said.

The man nodded and walked off, shouting Felicity's name. While he was doing that, the Doctor turned to everyone.

"So…sounds like a transmat beam took John away," he said to them.

"Then someone is controlling him," Eleven said. "I doubt he came here of his own free will."

"Yeah, he was just upset by all this as the rest of us," Rose said. "He's not evil, Doctor, even if he did destroy all the Daleks."

The Doctor nodded at that but kept silent preferring to reserve judgement on his clone till he was sure. He heard the man calling to him and turned to see him coming towards him with another young lady. She was in her mid twenties, Caucasian with a thin face and prominent cheekbones. The Doctor noted that she carried herself with an air of sophistication and dressed in a navy blue pantsuit with white blouse and black high heels. She looked more professional than her boss and he looked even more slovenly next to her. She wore glasses with thick black frames and she pushed them up on her nose while she got a good look at the Doctor. Unlike Tasha, she was composed and professional, although the Doctor did notice her giving him an appraising look.

"Doctor," she said, extending her hand to him. "Felicity Brown, I'm an intern here."

"Ms. Brown, pleasure," Ten said, shaking her hand. "Tell me what you think you saw then."

Felicity snorted.

"I don't think, I know what I saw, Doctor. I saw you and Gareth vanish in a ball of light."

"Where?" Ten said.

He sighed when Felicity gave him an odd look.

"Just…humor me," he said to her.

Felicity shrugged. The man stepped aside and watched while she led them to a spot halfway between the set and the doorway. She stepped back and watched confused while Ten and Eleven knelt down and sniffed the air while their hands hovered above the spot where John and Gareth disappeared.

"Transmat exchange," Eleven said after giving the air another sniff.

"Yes and residual warmth, definitely the spot," Ten said softly as he waved his hand over the floor.

"What's going on?" Felicity said to the others while the Doctors continued to examine the spot with their sonics.

"Just some scientific stuff," Clara said, waving her hand dismissively. "They do this all the time, trust me."

"And who are you?" Felicity said to her.

"Clara Oswald, I travel with…him," she said, pointing to Eleven.

Rose bit her lip when Felicity looked at Eleven and shrugged dismissively, not realizing who the man really was.

"So are you a…fan of the Doctor?" Rose asked her.

Felicity beamed.

"I admire him," she said, pointing down to Ten. "I think he's the solution for this planet."

"I think not," Ten muttered to Eleven as they continued to scan the floor.

"I think he will bring peace and prosperity to Earth," Felicity continued.

"Excuse me, butting in," Eleven said, standing up. "Tell me, are you a Christian?" he said to Felicity.

"Um…yeah, I suppose so," Felicity said, frowning. "I mean, I'm not churchy or anything but I do believe in Jesus."

"So if Jesus hasn't brought peace and prosperity to Earth, what makes you think the Doctor can?" Eleven said.

Ten bit his lip and glanced up at Felicity who was now flummoxed and silenced by the question.

"I suppose because that's how he's presenting himself," she finally said to Eleven. "He said in the interview that he wants to make the world a better place. You said that, yeah?" she added to Ten as he stood up. "So if he can offer that, why not take him up on the offer?"

"Because I never said it," Ten said to her.

"Huh, you said in the interview…"

"That wasn't me," Ten said, cutting Felicity off. "Long story but I have a clone and I'm afraid someone nefarious is forcing him to say things and putting forth the idea that I'm the rescuer of planet Earth. I care for Earth, I defend it but I'm not fixing every problem you have. I don't want to be a god. It's hard enough being a Time Lord most days."

"I don't understand," Felicity said to him.

"Look, I'm the Doctor as well although you haven't seen this version of me and I agree with what he's saying," Eleven said. "I'm afraid his clone and Gareth may have been kidnapped and what you saw before, him and Gareth vanishing in a ball of light, is in fact what happened. It's called a transmat and it's like a teleporter."

"Why would someone do that?" Felicity said.

"We don't know why someone is turning me into a god but we suspect that my clone is being forced to do this. As for Gareth, I think he was an innocent victim and now we have to find and rescue him as well. And I believe we did enough scans that the TARDIS can lock on to their position. So if you'll excuse us…Doctor?" he said to Ten as he gestured towards the door.

They turned to leave but Felicity grabbed Ten's arm. Ten sighed and turned back to her with an impatient look on his face.

"Thank you…for defending us," Felicity said to him.

Ten smiled.

"My pleasure, Ms. Brown. Thank you for helping us. Now if you'll excuse us…"

Felicity nodded. She let go and watched as Ten turned and walked with the others towards the front door.


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter Twenty Three

Gareth gasped when the light faded and he and John were inside a steel corridor. Gareth spun around, looking at the interior in terror while John cursed, knowing exactly where they were.

"What is this, where are we?" Gareth said to John when he finally calmed down enough to speak.

John was about to speak when he saw several armed guards, dressed in black leather and helmets with the visors down, running towards them. There were four coming from the right and three from the left and all of them reminded John of the Slabs back in Martha's hospital. Then Tak'na followed the ones on the right and grinned at them.

"Well, what have we here, a guest," he said, rubbing his hands together as Gareth looked all around him in terror.

"Let him go, he's an innocent," John said, pointing to Gareth.

"And…why should that make a difference?" Tak'na said, shrugging. "If I let him go, he might spoil my plans and beside, he's extra leverage to get you to do what I want. Guards, escort them both back to the Doctor's cell."

"Look, I host a chat show, I have nothing to do with this, I was just interviewing him!" Gareth said, babbling as he pointed at John.

"He doesn't care, Gareth, come on before they shoot you," John said, pointing to the laser blasters in the guard's hands.

"What is this, your army?" Gareth said as the two of them walked with the guards down the corridor.

John shot him a disbelieving look.

"If this is my army, why am I being captured by them?" he said.

"Mutiny?" Gareth said sheepishly.

John sighed, shook his head and muttered to himself about how some days it was good to just stay in the TARDIS.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"So…" Ten said as everyone entered the TARDIS. Let's run that scan, shall we?"

He froze when he heard more frenzied screaming and he turned and sighed when he saw more teenage girls running towards the TARDIS. Darius spun around and went to his side, his eyes narrowing. Ten held up his hand to get him to wait before he stepped outside.

"Oh my God, it's him! Our savior!" a young Asian girl gushed as they stopped a few feet in front of him. "Oh my God, you're cuter in person!"

"Hello, ladies," the Doctor said.

He frowned when the girls screamed at that and swooned. He looked back at Rose who was now standing in the doorway with Darius.

"What'd I say?" Ten said to Rose.

"Words, apparently," Rose said dryly.

The girls noticed her and their eyes narrowed.

"Who are you?" a young redhead said.

Rose smirked. She stepped over to the Doctor, grabbed his tie and planted a big kiss on his lips while the girls stared at her in shock.

"I'm his, that's who I am!" Rose said over her shoulder as she let go of his tie and walked back to the doorway, leaving a stunned and reddened Doctor in her wake. '

"Bitch," the Asian girl muttered while Rose gave them all a smug look.

"Look," Darius said, walking up to the Doctor. "We have to go and he has no time to muck with you apes."

"Who are you?" Ginger said.

"I'm his bodyguard and we're late for an appointment so clear off!"

"Sorry, ladies, must be off now," Ten said, shrugging.

"I, on the other hand, am available for autographs!" Eleven said, flouncing out of the TARDIS.

The girls frowned and looked him over when he stopped and threw his arms up with a delighted grin on his face. Ten looked at him and then looked at the girls who were now less than enthusiastic.

"Who are you?" Ginger asked.

"I'm the Doctor. I'm the next version of him," Eleven said, pointing to Ten. "So…autographs all around?"

"No!" the girls said in unison.

Eleven's mouth and arms dropped and he glared at the girls as they all walked away. Rose giggled when Eleven flipped them the vees before he turned and walked back inside.

"Anyway, back to business," Ten said as he walked inside.

Darius followed Rose inside and he shut the door behind him. He walked over to the others who were now gathered around the console, watching while Ten ran a scan for transmat energy.

"And you can find them just by running this scan?" Robert said to Ten while he stood beside him.

"Yes, Transmat energy leaves a very clear path and we can follow it if it hasn't degraded by now. The problem is it dissipates quickly. Oho, there it is! It's picked up the trail!" he said, pointing to some circle writing on the screen. "Now it will trace it and we'll find out where John and Gareth went."

He leaned back and looked at Rose who was standing behind him while she watched.

"Say it, I'm the man!" he said to her.

"You're a dork," Rose said.

She giggled when the Doctor frowned at that and leaned back up. He leaned over to Clara who was standing beside him and beside Eleven.

"Say it, I'm the man!" he said to her.

"You're a dork," Clara said.

Eleven sniggered with Rose when Ten gave her a withering look. He leaned back up and looked at Robert.

"I'm the man?" he said to him.

"Yes," Robert said.

"Good, glad someone agrees," Ten said.

"No, you're supposed to call him a dork like the rest of…"

Eleven giggled when Ten's hand slammed over her mouth and he went back to studying the monitor. He took his hand away from her mouth and made a big show of wiping her mouth germs off on his trouser leg while Clara flipped him off.

The concentric circles kept flashing and changing and then suddenly they stopped and the Doctor's head jerked forward and his eyes boggled for a moment before he groaned.

"What is it?" Rose said.

"The trail was cut off halfway up in space," Ten said. "Blast, the ship must have shielding. Still…we could follow what we have, go up and run a scan for any ships and find them that way. So…hold tight, everyone, we are going for a short hop up into outer space."


End file.
